U.S. Treasury unveils pre-filing registration portal for counties to claim IRA clean energy tax credits

Key Takeaways

On December 22, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) opened the pre-registration portal for counties and other tax-exempt entities to access tax credits for eligible clean energy projects under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). 

The pre-registration process is the first step for counties pursuing elective pay for IRA clean energy tax credits, in which tax-exempt entities can receive direct payments equal to the value of a tax credit for eligible clean energy projects, so long as the project is placed into service in a tax year beginning after December 31, 2022. 

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According to the June 2023 proposed regulations, counties and other tax-exempt entities that are pursuing elective pay must register the eligible project with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) prior to claiming the credit by filing Form 990-T with the IRS by the tax return due date for the applicable tax year. Counties pursuing elective pay will Include registration numbers received through this portal on the Form 990-T return.

Of Note to Counties

1. To complete the pre-filing registration process, counties must first determine the tax year in which they are claiming the tax credit.
   1. According to IRS FAQ #23, published in June 2023, a county’s tax year is determined by its annual accounting period, or its fiscal year, for reconciliation purposes
2. The facility or property that a county is claiming elective pay for must have been placed in service before the taxpayer can register it for an elective payment or transfer election.
   1. In other words a county cannot complete the pre-filing registration before the tax year in which the credit will be claimed for begins.
3. The IRS will review, if necessary respond to, and approve each registration on a rolling basis once they are received.
   1. IRS Recommendation: counties should complete the pre-filing registration at least 120 days prior to when the organization or entity plans to file its tax return.

Treasury will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, January 17 at 1:30 p.m. EST to provide an overview of the pre-filing registration process. 

Register Here