Elective Pay & IRA Tax Incentives Resources Page
Updated November 14, 2024
E-FILING NEWS: L4GG is proud to announce a partnership with Giraffe Financial to provide special e-filing pricing to tax-exempt entities pursuing 2023 credits.
Between now and November 15, 2024, Giraffe Financial is offering Elective Pay e-file services at a significantly reduced price for entities that have accurately filled out their tax forms, and seek to e-file rather than paper file.
This significantly discounted fee is only available to qualified entities that have utilized the Clean Energy Tax Navigator or otherwise received services from L4GG, received an IRS pre-filing registration number for their project(s), and worked with the annotated tax forms (made by L4GG and their partners) to accurately prepare forms for their 2023 filings.
For more detail, see L4GG’s press release here.
NEW RESOURCES & EVENTS:
The new Clean Energy Tax Navigator is an easy to use framework and interactive form that walks through the process of determining eligibility for Direct Pay, offering technical assistance, and in certain cases, direct pro bono services. It is designed to be a free, public one-stop shop providing tailored Elective Pay information to users at all stages from project ideation through tax form filing.
The Project Finance Hub, by Atlas Public Policy and launched in concert with the Navigator, offers a database of funding opportunities for clean energy projects.
Recorded trainings and slides on how to use the Navigator and Project Finance Hub are available on our Trainings page.
IRS announces extension to Elective Pay deadlines for applicable entities: News release and RevProc 2024-39 - October 11, 2024
Federal Register: Proposed rules for Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C)
JUMP TO: Maximizing Elective Pay Payments to Cities Under the Inflation Reduction Act, L4GG’s accredited CLE for city and municipal attorneys
JUMP TO: IRS Video Walk-Through of Pre-Filing Registration Portal
JUMP TO: Annotated Tax Forms from our Lighthouse Partners
JUMP TO: E-Filing vs. Paper Filing Info Sheet - UPDATED October 18, 2024
The IRS Pre-Filing Registration Portal is OPEN!
Register to receive a unique ID for all of your eligible tax year 2023 or 2024 projects!
PRE-FILING REGISTRATION RESOURCES
IRS Video Walk-Through of Pre-Filing Registration Portal (re-released July 2024)
Pre-Filing Registration Tool User Guide (with screenshots), IRS Publication 5884
IRS Energy Credits Online Permission Management User Guide (with screenshots), IRS Publication 5902
IRS Secure Messaging User Guide, IRS Publication 6025
Secure Messaging is recommended for questions on existing Pre-Filing Registrations as of Oct. 2024
Email for requesting technical assistance without a Pre-Filing Registration login: irs.elective.payment.or.transfer.of.credit@irs.gov
IRS recommends using Secure Messaging within the Pre-Filing Registration Portal (once you are logged in)
IRS Office Hours on Elective Pay & Pre-Filing Registration are concluded for 2024, resuming in 2025.
L4GG/WRI/GFOA/USDN Webinar: Demystifying the Elective Pay Process (video) - April 18, 2024
Slide deck (with hyperlinks to resources)
LEGAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FROM L4GG EXPERTS
If you have questions about elective pay for applicable entities, please click here to view our FAQ page, which is updated frequently and has answers from our legal experts to some of the most common questions we receive.
If your question is not answered on the FAQ page, click here to submit your question directly to L4GG’s legal experts.
L4GG WORKSHEETS, FACT SHEETS, ANNOTATED FORMS, & WEBINARS
Worksheets & Maps for Identifying Eligible Projects:
Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (non-urban and low income only)
EV Infrastructure - 30C Tax Credit Eligibility Locator Map from DOE
Annotated Tax Forms:
Form 3468 - Section 48/Investment Tax Credit (ITC) - from Lighthouse Partners
Form 8936 & Schedule A - Section 45W/EV purchases - from Electrification Coalition
Form 8911 & Worksheet 1 - Section 30C/EV infrastructure - from Electrification Coalition
Form 3800 - General Business Income - from Lighthouse Partners
Form 990-T - Exempt Org. Business Tax Return - from Lighthouse Partners
See our Annotated Tax Forms page for corresponding IRS forms
IRS also provides a video walkthrough and PDF summary of completing tax forms
Fact Sheets:
E-Filing vs. Paper Filing - UPDATED
Restricted vs. Unrestricted Funds and the “No Excess Benefit” Rule
When is a Lease Actually Financing? (financed EV ownership & credit eligibility)
Energy.gov LICB Program Home, LICB Dashboard, and 2024 DOE webinar
2024 Program Year applications open as of May 28, 2024 (9am ET)
Identifying a Tax Year for Government Entities
“Am I a First-Time Filer?” (re: May 15, 2024 extension filing)
Webinars:
NEW for City and County Attorneys: L4GG’s accredited Continuing Legal Education (CLE): Maximizing Elective Pay Payments to Cities Under the Inflation Reduction Act
Free with the purchase code 2024L4GG
CPCC w/ L4GG: Cash for Communities (video) - May 9, 2024
L4GG/WRI/GFOA/USDN/SSDN: Slide decks for SSDN - May 1, 2024
L4GG/WRI/GFOA/USDN Demystifying the Elective Pay Process (video) - April 18, 2024
Slide deck (with hyperlinks to resources)
L4GG/CAP/NLC/BGA How Cities Can Take Advantage of Direct Pay (video) - Jan 2024
Slide deck (with hyperlinks to resources)
L4GG’s Direct Pay Overview Webinar - August 2023
L4GG/Sabin Center Presentation to Local Governments
Stanford Law School Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy
HELPFUL PARTNER RESOURCES
Government Finance Officers Association - IRA Implementation Resources
Electrification Coalition - Elective Pay Resources
Congressional Progressive Caucus Center - Direct Pay Resources
Center for Public Enterprise - Tax Credit “Chaining” Brief
Clean Energy States Alliance - Build America Buy America and Domestic Content: A Primer for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Solar for All Program
State Support Center - Direct Pay & Project Finance Memo for States, April 3, 2024
WRI - Bonus Mapper
Wilson Sonsini - IRA Legal Resources
Wilson Sonsini - Analysis of New 48/ITC Proposed Regulations
Clean Energy Group - Direct Pay Guide for Non-Profits, ITC for Non-Profits, Applying for IRA Bonuses, & Bonus Fact Sheets
Sabin Center - Proposed Regulations for Direct Pay Under the Inflation Reduction Act - Guidelines for Cities
NYU School of Law - Making Cents of the IRA
Center for American Progress - Overview on Direct Pay
Clean Energy States Alliance - Low-Income Communities Bonus
BlueGreen Alliance - Domestic Content Guidance for Developers
APPLICABLE REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE FROM TREASURY & IRS
FINAL REGULATIONS ON DIRECT PAY - Published March 11, 2024
L4GG’s Summary of IRS Final Rules on Elective Pay - March 6, 2024
IRS Press Release on Final Regulations - March 5, 2024
IRS FAQ on Elective Pay - Updated March 5, 2024
IRS TEGE Guide on Completing Form 990-T for Elective Payment Election Only (video)
ARTICLES FROM L4GG LEGAL EXPERTS
Analysis of Final Rule on Transferability - Tax Law Center at NYU
Analysis of §48/ITC Proposed Regulations - Wilson Sonsini
Low-Income Communities Bonus - Linklaters
Domestic Content - Linklaters
Energy Communities Bonus - Linklaters
Paying for your Project - Financing ResourceS
Atlas Public Policy - Project Finance Hub
Milken Institute - Community Infrastructure Center
Center for Public Enterprise - Interactive Financial Modeling Tool
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: Greenbanks, CDFIs, other Grant recipients under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (Solar for All Competition is currently open); 43 states have filed NOIs
U.S. Dept. of Energy - State Energy Financing Institutions (SEFI) Funding for State Programs
Wilson Sonsini - Clean Energy Federal Funding Database
Wilson Sonsini - Climate Funding White Paper
Found an error, broken link, or other tech issue? Let us know at CleanEnergy@L4GG.org — and thanks!