Deadlines
Deadlines for transferable credits
A credit can only be sold if it exists. These are the statutory dates that decide whether a project still earns its credit, and the transfer-rule dates that decide who can buy it.
Verified · statute and IRS notices
Every year has its own filing deadline too. A transfer election must be made on the seller's original return, filed by its due date including extensions, with a registration number the IRS asks you to request at least 120 days before that date.Registration.
Ahead
- Wind and solar started after 4 July 2026 must be in service by this dateA wind or solar facility whose construction began after 4 July 2026 earns no §45Y or §48E credit unless it is placed in service by 31 December 2027.
- §45X ends for wind energy componentsNo §45X credit for wind energy components produced and sold after 31 December 2027.
- §45V: construction must begin before 1 January 2028Hydrogen facilities must begin construction before 1 January 2028 to qualify.
- §45Z ends for fuel sold after this dateNo §45Z credit for transportation fuel sold after 31 December 2029.
- §45X phase-down begins for components sold after 2029Components sold in 2030 earn 75%, in 2031 50%, in 2032 25%, and nothing after 2032. Metallurgical coal produced after 2029 earns nothing; other critical minerals phase down after 2030.
- §45U ends for tax years beginning after 2032The nuclear production credit does not apply to tax years beginning after 31 December 2032.
- §45Q: construction must begin before 1 January 2033A capture facility must begin construction (of the facility and its capture equipment, or with capture designed in) before 1 January 2033.
- §45Y and §48E phase down for construction starting after 2032Non-wind, non-solar facilities beginning construction in 2033 get 100% of the credit, in 2034 75%, in 2035 50%, and nothing after.
- §48 geothermal heat pumps: construction must begin before 2035Ground-source heat pump property remains eligible under §48 if its construction begins before 1 January 2035.
Already passed (still relevant to projects that met them)
- Wind and solar: last day to begin construction without the 2027 cliffWind and solar facilities whose construction began on or before 4 July 2026 are not subject to the 31 December 2027 placed-in-service deadline (Notice 2025-42's continuity safe harbor gives four calendar years after the year construction began).
- §30C ends for property placed in service after this dateNo §30C credit for refuelling or charging property placed in service after 30 June 2026.
- North American feedstock rule and end of the SAF premiumFor fuel produced after 31 December 2025, feedstock must be produced or grown in the U.S., Mexico or Canada, and sustainable aviation fuel no longer earns a higher rate.
- Material-assistance test applies to construction starting after this dateFacilities and storage whose construction begins after 31 December 2025 get no §45Y or §48E credit if they include material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity (cost-ratio thresholds start at 40% for facilities and 55% for storage in 2026).
- Stricter begin-construction test for wind and solarFor wind and solar facilities that had not begun construction before 2 September 2025, only the physical work test can establish the start of construction; the 5% cost safe harbor survives only for solar facilities of 1.5 MW AC or less.
- No transfers of these credits to a specified foreign entityFor tax years beginning after 4 July 2025, credits under §§45Q, 45U, 45X, 45Y, 45Z and 48E may not be transferred to a specified foreign entity.
- Small agri-biodiesel producer credit becomes transferableThe 2025 law added the small agri-biodiesel producer credit (§40A(b)(4)) to the transferable list, for fuel sold or used after 30 June 2025.
- Last day to begin construction under §45 and most of §48Facilities and most energy property must have begun construction before 1 January 2025 to use the legacy credits. Later projects use §45Y or §48E.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. § 45 — Electricity produced from certain renewable resources
- 26 U.S.C. § 48 — Energy credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 6418 — Transfer of certain credits
- Instructions for Form 3800 (2025)
- 26 U.S.C. § 7701(a)(51)–(52) — Prohibited foreign entity; material assistance
- Notice 2025-42 — Beginning of construction for wind and solar facilities under §§ 45Y and 48E
- 26 U.S.C. § 45Y — Clean electricity production credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 48E — Clean electricity investment credit
- Notice 2026-15 — Interim safe harbors for material assistance from a prohibited foreign entity
- 26 U.S.C. § 45Z — Clean fuel production credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 30C — Alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 45X — Advanced manufacturing production credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 45V — Credit for production of clean hydrogen
- 26 U.S.C. § 45U — Zero-emission nuclear power production credit
- 26 U.S.C. § 45Q — Credit for carbon oxide sequestration