Sept. 24, 2024: Lessons From First Year of RETC Elective Pay Incentive

The first tax season to claim the elective pay incentive, sometimes called "direct pay," from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 took place earlier this year. In this week's episode of Tax Credit Tuesday, host and Novogradac managing partner, Michael Novogradac, CPA is joined by Novogradac partner Alvin Lee, CPA, to review lessons learned from the incentive's first tax season. The conversation reviews the details of the incentive, which credits are available for direct pay and who can apply for it. Next, the conversation covers the reasons a taxpayer might opt for the elective pay option over other possibilities such as renewable energy tax credit (RETC) transfer. The conversation moves into two evolving issues facing the incentive around what qualifies as domestic content as well as the Jan. 1, 2025, switch for the solar investment tax credit (ITC) to a tech-neutral credit. Finally, the two discuss lessons learned from the first year of the incentive's tax season to apply to the 2025 season.