Developers Can Get a Preview of What They'll Need to Submit in the IRS Pre-Registration Portal
The IRS published guidance for its transferable tax credit pre-registration portal. We created a checklist for each credit type.
In early December, the IRS launched a webpage for its pre-filing registration tool. As of this post, the actual tool is "unavailable to the public."
However, developers who want a head-start can review the portal's user guide to get a clear sense of what to expect – including the IRS's recommended 120-day review timeline.
Reunion's key takeaways from the pre-registration portal user guide
- Takeaway 1: The IRS pre-registration portal is not yet open, but the user guide discloses the portal's data and documentation requirements
- Takeaway 2: The IRS does not issue a registration number until the review is complete, and the IRS recommends at least 120 days for review
- Takeaway 3: Projects must be placed in service before submitting a registration
- Takeaway 4: For every credit, the portal requires standardized information about the registrant
- Takeaway 5: The portal includes credit-specific requirements, including a "non-exhaustive" list of documents. (Navigate directly to a credit's requirements: §30C, §45, §45Q, §45U, §45V, §45X, §45Y, §45Z, §48, §48C, §48E)
- Takeaway 6: Developers will need a registration number for each facility/property
- Takeaway 7: A registration number does not mean a registrant qualifies for a credit of any specific amount
TAKEAWAY 1
The IRS pre-registration portal is not yet open, but the user guide discloses the portal's data and documentation requirements
In early December, the IRS launched a webpage for its pre-filing registration tool. As of this post (December 18, 2023), however, the actual tool is "currently unavailable to the public."
Although the portal is not yet live, developers can get a preview of the tool's look, feel, and workflow through the Pre-Filing Registration Tool User Guide and Instructions.
The 69-page guide includes step-by-step instructions for registering each facility/property, including a bulk upload functionality – complete with a spreadsheet template – for the §30C, §45, and §48 credits. (The template is not yet available.)
TAKEAWAY 2
The IRS does not issue a registration number until the review is complete, and the IRS recommends at least 120 days for review
The IRS does not issue registration numbers until the application has been reviewed and marked as "Returned - Closed." The registration field will go from "pending" to an alpha-numeric string.
The guide counsels registrants to submit their pre-filing registration at least 120 days prior to when they plan to file their tax return. 120 days "should allow time for IRS review, and for the taxpayer to respond if the IRS requires additional information before issuing the registration numbers."
Importantly, 120 days is the IRS's current recommendation, suggesting this timeline could vary. Developers should prudently assume 120 days is the minimum.
TAKEAWAY 3
Projects must be placed in service before submitting a registration
The guide states, "Before a facility/property can be registered to make a transfer election...that property or facility must have been placed in service no later than the date the registration is submitted." However, nothing prevents a registrant from getting a head-start on a draft submission.
TAKEAWAY 4
For every credit, the portal requires information about the registrant and allows for "additional information, if any"
All registrations must provide the following "general information" about the registrant:
- Tax period of the election
- EIN
- Name associated with EIN (as it appears on tax return)
- Parent of consolidated group?
- Registrant type (C corporation, sole proprietorship, etc.)
- Address
- Bank account information (account number, routing number)
- Type(s) of prior-year return(s) filed (Form 1120, Form 1040, etc.)
The portal also allows for "additional information, if any" as unformatted text. This field is optional but allows for the collection of "any additional information the registrant may wish to provide to identify a specific property or facility." In general, registrants should consider this field an opportunity to address any potential questions about their submission. Registrants should remove as much uncertainty in their application as possible.
TAKEAWAY 5
The portal includes credit-specific requirements, including a "non-exhaustive" list of documentation
Depending on the type of credit a developer is registering, the portal will ask for specific data – the date construction began, for example – and a "non-exhaustive" list of supporting documentation.
According to the guide, "Supporting documents will usually be relatively short documents, such as permits, title documents, [and] sales documents (showing the name of the registrant, date of purchase, and identifying information such as serial numbers)." On several occasions, the user guide states, "Do not attach detailed project plans or contractual agreements."
The guide does not list requirements for credits that are pending:
- §45Y – Clean electricity production credit: Applies to facilities placed in service after 12/31/2024
- §45Z – Clean fuel production credit: Applies to transportation fuel produced after 12/31/2024
- §48E – Clean electricity investment credit: Applies to facilities placed in service after 12/31/2024
Scroll to a credit: §30C | §45 | §45Q | §45U | §45V | §45X | §45Y | §45Z | §48 | §48C | §48E
TAKEAWAY 6
Developers will need a registration number for each facility/property
Developers will need a separate registration number for each facility/property, depending "on how the credits must be computed and reported on the source credit form and Form 3800."
The source forms for each credit are as follows:
Transferable tax credit source form links
Here are links to available source credit forms for transferable tax credits. Some forms, like 7213, are in draft as of this post (December 11, 2023):
- §30C (Alternative fuel refueling property credit) – Form 8911
- §45 (Renewable electricity production credit) – Form 8835
- §45Q (Carbon oxide sequestration credit) – Form 8933
- §45U (Zero emission nuclear power production credit) – Form 7213. As of December 2023, this form is draft
- §45V (Clean hydrogen production credit) – Form 7210. As of December 2023, this form is draft
- §45Z (Clean fuel production credit) – Form 8835. As of December 2023, this form is pending a future revision
- §45X (Advanced manufacturing production credit) – Form 7207
- §45Y (Clean electricity production credit) – Form 7211. As of December 2023, this form is pending
- §48 (Energy credit) – Form 3468
- §48C (Qualifying advanced energy project credit) – Form 3468
- §48E (Clean electricity investment credit) – Form 3468. As of December 2023, this credit will involve a future form revision
TAKEAWAY 7
A registration number does not mean a registrant qualifies for a credit of any specific amount
The guide reminds registrants that the portal demonstrates an "intent to monetize" a credit. A registration number, in other words, "does not mean that the registrant has been determined to qualify for a credit of any specific amount."
To monetize a credit, a developer must meet other requirements to make a valid election, including:
- Reporting the credit on the applicable source credit form (see list above)
- Completing Form 3800
- Fully executed transfer election statement
- Attaching these forms to a timely-filed tax return
QUESTIONS
Interested in learning more?
To learn more about the pre-registration portal or the IRA tax credit market it supports, please contact Reunion.
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