Treasury opens a 30-day window for IRA comments

Treasury opens a 30-day window for IRA comments

October 05, 2022 | By Keith Martin in Washington, DC, David Burton in New York, and Hilary Lefko in Washington, DC

The Treasury asked for comments on most of the major tax provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act this afternoon. Comments are due November 4. 

Treasury issued six notices requesting comments on various subjects. Here are links to all of the notices:

Comments received after the deadline will also be considered as long as they do not delay work on guidance.

Treasury plans to prioritize guidance in areas where Congress set short deadlines. For example, Congress gave Treasury 180 days (until mid-February) to issue guidance on applying for $10 billion in tax credits to build new factories and re-equip existing assembly lines to make equipment for the green economy.

The wage and apprentice guidance is also on the priority list.

John Podesta, who is spearheading implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, said the wage and apprentice guidance should be issued in the “relatively near future,” according to the Daily Tax Report, but presumably not until after Treasury has time to consider comments, since that is one of the topics on which Treasury asked this afternoon for input.

Projects that are not under construction within 59 days after the wage and apprentice guidance is issued must pay the same wages that are paid on federal construction jobs to mechanics and laborers not only during construction, but also for work on alterations and repairs during the next five to 10 years after the projects are in operation, to qualify for federal tax credits at the full rate. Qualified apprentices must also be used for 10% to 15% of total labor hours.

The areas on which the Treasury asked this afternoon for comments are the following:

  • direct pay and tax-credit sales
  • prevailing wage and apprentice rules
  • bonus tax credits for projects that are in energy communities, use domestic content or serve low and moderate-income taxpayers
  • section 48C and 45X tax credits for manufacturers
  • ITCs and PTCs for generating renewable electricity, standalone storage, dynamic windows, biogas property, etc.
  • tax credits for electric and other clean vehicles
  • tax credits and deductions for energy efficiency improvements to homes and buildings

Areas on which comments were not requested this afternoon include the following:

  • hydrogen
  • carbon capture
  • alternative fuels
  • book minimum tax