Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Lack of IRS Solar Tax Credit Guidance Clouds New Projects

Renewable Energy World: Solar energy developers hoping to break ground on large-scale projects want the IRS to define new-construction requirements for a renewable energy tax incentive.

At issue are the solar investment tax credit’s “beginning of construction” requirements enacted in 2015 as part of a multiyear phasedown of the incentive. New multimillion-dollar projects are on hold because developers remain uncertain how to calculate the credit into their capital planning, lobbyists and practitioners told Bloomberg BNA.

The solar ITC, under tax code Section 48, is currently 30 percent of the basis of eligible property placed in service during the taxable year, but it will phase down to 10 percent for commercial projects. The 2015 law added a start-of-construction factor to eligibility criteria, allowing projects that begin building during the phasedown period to get the credit applicable to the year they begin, if they are placed in service before 2024.

Read article