Resources

In 2023, WRI supported the development of a comprehensive guidebook published by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Local Infrastructure Hub to help illustrate how local governments can take advantage of funding and tax credit opportunities in the IRA, entitled Catalyzing Local Clean Energy: A Roadmap for Maximizing Inflation Reduction Act Opportunities and Community Benefits. This guidebook, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Sustainable Cities Fund, seeks to explore the opportunities available to local governments and other eligible entities through grant programs, tax credits and the GGRF. It explains how entities can integrate these sources of funding into their current and future clean energy projects.

Through the City Renewables Accelerator, WRI and RMI have developed America’s Federal Funding Opportunities and Resources for Decarbonization (AFFORD) — a searchable database that helps local governments and organizations identify and prioritize federal funding, tax credits and other incentives. This free tool is primarily intended to streamline local and community efforts to increase understanding of eligible funding and incentives that are relevant to various clean energy and climate goals. 

School districts looking for guidance can visit WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative website to access resources to support fleet electrification.

See below for other useful resources on integrating elective pay tax credits into government clean energy procurement and RFPs:

• IRS has put out resources to help folks understand the registration process, including an overview for local governments, FAQs and a pre-filing registration user guide.

• Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG) provides extensive information, fact sheets, and worksheets on their Elective Pay and IRA Tax Incentives Resources page that can help you plan and prepare for elective pay filing. L4GG also provides an ability to ask a legal question of its large expert attorney network and publishes all previous answers. Use L4GG’s Clean Energy Tax Navigator and new guidance brief.

• The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) aggregates information on finance-oriented questions including portal submissions; timing of IRS, financial statement and audit processes; financial statement recognition of credits, and strategic financial planning. GFOA has best practices and IRA implementation resources for states, localities and instrumentalities that you may find helpful in planning.

• Electrification Coalition provides technical assistance and resources for vehicle elective pay credits.

Annotated Tax Forms:

• Form 3468 - Section 48/Investment Tax Credit (ITC) - from GFOA & L4GG

• Form 8936 & Schedule A - Section 45W/EV purchases - from Electrification Coalition

• Form 8911 & Worksheet 1 - Section 30C/EV infrastructure - from Electrification Coalition

• Form 3800 - General Business Income - from GFOA & L4GG

• Form 990-T - Exempt Org. Business Tax Return - from GFOA & L4GG