Taxpayers wishing to claim cash grants in lieu of a Section 48 energy investment credit for alternative energy property must file applications with the IRS no later than Sept. 30, 2012, whether or not the property has been placed in service. No extension or other relief for late filing is expected to be available.
Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (as amended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010) provides that the nonrefundable general business credit under Section 48 for specified alternative energy property may be claimed as a cash grant. The grant option provides an incentive for investment without regard to the profitability of the taxpayer placing the property in service or the level of participation of the investor.
To qualify for the cash grant, the property must have been placed in service in 2009, 2010 or 2011, or alternatively, construction must have begun on the property during those years, with the property placed in service before the "credit determination date." The credit determination date is Jan. 1, 2013 for most wind projects, Jan. 1, 2014 for biomass and geothermal projects, and Jan. 1, 2017 for solar, "small wind" and microturbine projects.
In all cases, an application for the grant must be submitted BEFORE Oct. 1, 2012, using the Treasury's dedicated online system at https://treas1603.nrel.gov. Applications may not be submitted by mail or delivery. The Treasury has announced that the online system will close for new applications at midnight (HT), Sept. 30, 2012.
Applicants requesting grant payments of $1 million or more for a specified property are required to submit an independent accountant's examination opinion attesting to the accuracy of costs claimed pursuant to the general rules for determining basis for federal income tax purposes. If the grant request is for less than $1 million but more than $500,000, taxpayers must submit an agreed-upon procedures report.
The Treasury has published a 1603 Online System Guide, which should be consulted in connection with the filing of any application.
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