Securing Maryland’s Future: The Buy Maryland Cybersecurity Tax Credit

At the Maryland State Senate in Annapolis: Tasha Cornish, Executive Director of Cybersecurity Association; Shawn Levin, President of Avid Practice; Michael Cohn, CEO of Summit Business Technologies; Maryland Secretary of Commerce Harry Coker; Ron Hill, Owner of Hill Tech Solutions; and John Fiastro, Lobbyist at Fiastro Consulting.

Securing Maryland’s Future: The Buy Maryland Cybersecurity Tax Credit

Maryland is a global hub for cybersecurity innovation, and Senate Bill 25 is the next step in ensuring our local businesses and nonprofits are as resilient as they are innovative.

For many Maryland small businesses and nonprofits, a single data breach isn’t just an IT hurdle—it’s an existential threat. These organizations protect sensitive donor information, proprietary data, and customer trust, without the cybersecurity budgets of multinational corporations.

Senate Bill 25, introduced as a departmental bill by the Maryland Department of Commerce, transforms the existing cybersecurity tax credit into the Buy Maryland Cybersecurity Tax Credit. This legislation is designed to make high-level security accessible to the organizations that need it most, and provided by Maryland-grown companies. 

How SB 25 Strengthens Our Digital Economy

The Bill introduces four pivotal changes to ensure the program's success and scalability:

• Removing Barriers for Buyers: The Bill eliminates the restrictive 50-employee cap for "Qualified Buyers". This allows more Maryland entities to qualify for the credit, regardless of their size, ensuring a more secure state-wide infrastructure.

• Empowering the Nonprofit Sector: By making the tax credit refundable, the Bill ensures that Maryland’s nonprofits—who face significant cyber risks but have no income tax liability—can receive a cash refund to offset the costs of critical security services.

• Scaling with Our Local Sellers: The Bill raises the annual revenue cap for "Qualified Sellers" from $5 million to $10 million. This allows our homegrown cyber firms to grow within the program while providing buyers with the mature, stable partners they require.

• Enhancing Program Usability: The aggregate credit cap for purchases from a single seller is increased from $200,000 to $1 million. This ensures the program is driven by the needs of the buyers rather than arbitrary administrative limits.

A Collaborative Effort

This legislation is the result of a powerful partnership between the private sector and the State of Maryland. We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Maryland Department of Commerce for their tireless collaboration on this Bill.

Specifically, we want to recognize:

• Secretary Harry Coker for his leadership and vision in positioning Maryland as a leader in the industries of the future.

• Jennifer LaHatte, Managing Director of Policy, Research, and Government Affairs, for her dedication to crafting policy that supports our business community.

• Kimberly Mentzell, Director of Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, for her expertise and commitment to the growth of Maryland’s cyber ecosystem.

We are also grateful to the Chair of the Budget and Taxation Committee, Senator Guy Guzzone for his sponsorship and unwavering support of cybersecurity in Maryland.

What's Next?

As this Bill moves through the General Assembly, we are excited to see how it will empower our local businesses and nonprofits to defend against modern threats using Maryland-made technology