Update: The Treasury Dept. announced it will begin accepting applications for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program at 9 a.m. ET on October 19, 2023. To provide information about the application process ahead of this date, Treasury and the Dept. of Energy will be launching the program help desk and hosting a webinar about the application process on September 29; potential applicants can register for the webinar here. The webinar recording will be made available online after the event for those who cannot attend. Additional materials to help applicants prepare their submissions will be made available on the Department of Energy landing page in the coming weeks.

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have issued final regulations (going live on August 15) and Revenue Procedure 2023-27PDF to provide guidance for owners of certain solar or wind facilities built in connection with low-income communities. DOE will begin accepting applications across all four categories of the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program beginning in early Fall 2023. The date and time the Application Portal will open for registration and application submission and additional program resources will be announced in early September.

The guidance issued today provides definitions, requirements and procedures applicable to the Section 48(e) low-income communities bonus energy investment credit program established under the Inflation Reduction Act. The IRS estimates that applications from individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations that own certain energy credit qualifying solar or wind facilities could number in the thousands.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides for an increase in the energy investment credit for solar and wind facilities that apply for and receive an allocation of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation. Taxpayers that receive an allocation and properly place the facility in service may then claim the increased energy investment credit in the year that the facility is placed in service.

The final regulations provide definitions and requirements for the program. The regulations state the four project categories under which facilities apply for an allocation, and the increase of either 10% or 20% associated with a project category. Additionally, the regulations:

• Define financial benefits for the two applicable project categories.
• Define energy storage technology installed in connection with the solar or wind facility.
• Define and describe the additional selection criteria for eligible potential applicants.
• Remind potential applicants that facilities placed in service prior to an allocation are not eligible.
• Provide the disqualification and credit recapture rules specific to the program.

Revenue Procedure 2023-27 provides the procedures for potential applicants to apply for an allocation of capacity limitation. Specifically, this guidance provides the information applicants will need to apply and describes the Department of Energy’s application and review process, and the IRS’s allocation award process. The guidance directs applicants to register and apply through the Department of Energy’s portal.

Today, DOE launched a Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program page, which will be updated in the coming weeks to provide additional information about the application opening date and application materials.

The Treasury Department and IRS released Notice 2023-17 on February 13, 2023, to establish the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program. Notice 2023-17 provided initial guidance for potential applicants seeking allocations of calendar year 2023 environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation. The Treasury Department and IRS also issued proposed regulations on May 31.

News item from the IRS