IRA Clean Electricity Credits (§48E / §45Y) + Low-Income Communities Bonus
Federal clean-electricity investment (§48E) or production (§45Y) credits, subject to technology, timing and other tax requirements. Wind and solar projects beginning construction after July 4, 2026 must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to avoid the statutory termination. Earlier construction and other technologies have separate rules.
Check an Address — Free Snapshot
Explore location-based incentives alongside IRA Clean Electricity Credits (§48E / §45Y) + Low-Income Communities Bonus. This program requires a separate review of its business or project requirements.
Published criteria — confirm with Internal Revenue Service
- Qualified clean electricity facility (solar, storage, wind, etc.)
- Bonus stacks for energy community or low-income community sites
IRA Clean Electricity Credits (§48E / §45Y) + Low-Income Communities Bonus is administered at the federal level. Depending on the program, eligibility may depend on the specific location, property type, or business activity rather than a single drawn boundary.
Boundaries are precise and change over time, so whether a specific address falls inside a mapped zone always depends on that exact address. The fastest way to check is to run a free snapshot for the parcel you have in mind — mapped coverage is a location signal, not an eligibility determination.
Range on file · §48E: 6% base credit, potentially 30% with qualifying increase; conditional bonuses
Current published terms as of 2026-10-09
- +Section 48E base investment credit is 6%; a qualifying prevailing-wage/apprenticeship increase or exception can raise it to 30%
- +Energy-community bonus: 2 or 10 percentage points, depending on applicable labor requirements or exception
- +Separate low-income allocation program can add 10 or 20 percentage points for qualifying projects
- +Section 45Y production credit is an alternative to the investment credit, subject to its own rules
- 1Have a tax advisor verify project technology, construction timing, placed-in-service date, labor requirements and current foreign-entity restrictions
- 2If seeking a low-income bonus, confirm the separate allocation process; a bonus round deadline does not terminate the underlying credit
- 3Complete any required registration for elective payment or transfer and file the applicable tax forms
Review the IRS clean-electricity guidance with a tax advisor before committing to a project.
- IRS Energy Credits Online pre-filing registration
- Documentation of energy-community or low-income-community designation
- Project cost basis and placed-in-service records
- Prevailing-wage and apprenticeship documentation (for full 30% rate)
This page is a starting point, not eligibility, legal, or tax advice. Verify current requirements, deadlines, and boundaries with the administering agency before applying or spending money — program rules and funding change over time.
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- (800) 829-1040
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Last verified 2026-10-09
Created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, Pub. L. 119-21, July 2025) on a 10-year designation cycle. OZ 2.0 governor nominations underway July 2026; new OZ 2.0 map effective 1/1/2027. Existing OZ 1.0 tracts remain valid through 12/31/2028.
WOTC LAPSE NOTICE: The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) expired December 31, 2025. As of July 2026 it is in legislative hiatus — no new credits are available for employees starting work on or after January 1, 2026. WOTC has historically been reauthorized retroactively; employers are advised to CONTINUE pre-screening new hires using IRS Form 8850 to preserve potential retroactive eligibility. Credit value: $2,400–$9,600 per qualifying hire.
The New Markets Tax Credit program was made permanent by OBBBA (July 2025) with $5 billion in annual allocation authority — eliminating the prior reauthorization risk. The 39% federal tax credit on qualified equity investments through certified CDEs continues without sunset. CY 2026 application round not yet open as of July 2026. NMTC flows through Community Development Entities (CDEs), not directly to businesses — projects typically $5M+.
Qualified affordable-housing projects in HUD-designated QCTs may use up to 130% of otherwise eligible basis for LIHTC calculations, subject to allocation and tax rules. HUD published 2027 designations on October 6, 2026; their application depends on allocation, bond and placed-in-service timing.