How much money can I get with the Elective Pay credits?

That really depends! Several factors, including the type of credit being pursued and a project’s eligibility for any available bonuses, affect the available credit amount. The following chart provides a general breakdown of potential credit amounts:

The ITC is a one-time credit that you would claim once the eligible energy property is “placed in service” or has finished construction. Projects can receive an ITC base credit of up to 30% of total eligible project costs if the project has a nameplate capacity of less than 1 megawatt (MW) or meets prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) labor standards.

The PTC is a credit based on the electricity produced and sold by the energy system in a year. For systems greater than 1 megawatt (MW) in size, the full PTC tax credit is up to 2.75 cents/kW if the project meets PWA labor standards. Generally speaking, the PTC tends to be superior to the ITC for large, utility-scale projects that generate well over 100MW of energy. 

The Energy Community 10% bonus credit and Domestic Content 10% bonus credit are both available to the ITC and PTC. The Low-Income Communities Bonus 10-20% Credit, which requires a separate application, is also available for wind and solar ITC projects with an output of less than 5 MW. To learn more about how the ITC, PTC, and bonus credits work, click here. 

There are also Elective Pay credits for electric vehicle charging stations in eligible census tracts, known as the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C), and qualified electric fleet vehicles, known as the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W).

The credit for electric vehicle charging stations has a base credit of 6% and increases to 30% when prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are met. The maximum credit amount is $100,000 for each charging port. The charger(s) must be located in a qualifying low-income or non-urban census tract that can be looked up using the Department of Energy’s eligibility map. As a reminder, entities must place the eligible charger(s) in service on or before June 30, 2026, after which H.R. 1 terminates the credit.

The credit for electric vehicles provides up to $7,500 for smaller qualified vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) of under 14,000 pounds and up to $40,000 for larger vehicles. See more information on what vehicles and manufacturers qualify here. As a reminder, entities must acquire the qualified vehicle on or before September 30, 2025, after which H.R. 1 terminates the credit.

Watch a video explanation of bonuses for the ITC and PTC here from 21:37-26:35

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