n-22-56.pdf

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Request for Comments on Section 45W Credit for Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles
and Section 30C Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit

Notice 2022-56

SECTION 1. PURPOSE

The Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) plan to issue guidance under § 45W and § 30C of the Internal
Revenue Code (Code), as amended by §§ 13403 and 13404, respectively, of Public
Law 117-169, 136 Stat. 1818 (August 16, 2022), commonly known as the Inflation
Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). This notice requests general comments on the qualified
commercial clean vehicles credit under § 45W (§ 45W credit) and the amendments to
the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit under § 30C (§ 30C credit), as well
as specific comments described in section 3 of this notice. Comments received in
response to this notice will help to inform the development of guidance implementing
§§ 45W and 30C.
SECTION 2. BACKGROUND
.01 Section 45W, Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles Credit
Section 13403(a) of the IRA added new § 45W to the Code, which is effective for
vehicles acquired after December 31, 2022, and before January 1, 2033. A taxpayer
can claim a § 45W credit for purchasing and placing in service a qualified commercial
clean vehicle, as defined in § 45W(c), during the taxable year. The amount of the
§ 45W credit is the lesser of (1) 15 percent of the taxpayer’s basis in the vehicle

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(30 percent in the case of a vehicle not powered by a gasoline or diesel internal
combustion engine), or (2) the incremental cost of the vehicle.
1
Under § 45W(b)(4), the
credit is limited to $7,500 in the case of a vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating
of less than 14,000 pounds, and $40,000 for all other vehicles.
Section 45W(c) defines “qualified commercial clean vehicle” for purposes of the
§ 45W credit.
2
Section 45W(d) establishes special rules for purposes of the § 45W
credit, including the application of basis reduction, domestic usage, and recapture rules
similar to those under § 30D(f) of the Code and a rule disallowing a double benefit
under § 45W for a taxpayer claiming a new clean vehicle credit under § 30D. Section
45W(e) provides that no § 45W credit is allowed with respect to any vehicle unless the
taxpayer includes the vehicle identification number (VIN) of such vehicle on the tax
return for the taxable year. Section 45W(f) grants the Secretary of the Treasury or her
delegate (Secretary) authority to issue regulations or other guidance to carry out the
purposes of § 45W, including regulations or other guidance relating to determination of
the incremental cost of any qualified commercial clean vehicle.

1
Section 45W(b)(2) provides that the incremental cost of any qualified commercial clean vehicle is an
amount equal to the excess of the purchase price for such vehicle over the purchase price of a
comparable vehicle. Section 45W(b)(3) defines “comparable vehicle” to mean any vehicle that is
powered solely by a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine and is comparable in size and use to
such vehicle.

2
Under § 45W(c), a “qualified commercial clean vehicle” is defined as any vehicle of a character subject
to the allowance for depreciation that: (1) meets the requirement under § 30D(d)(1)(C) of being made by
a qualified manufacturer and is acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not for resale, (2) either--
(A) meets the requirement under § 30D(d)(1)(D) of being treated as a motor vehicle for purposes of title II
of the Clean Air Act and is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways (not
including a vehicle operated exclusively on a rail or rails), or (B) is mobile machinery, as defined in
§ 4053(8) (including vehicles that are not designed to perform a function of transporting a load over the
public highways), and (3) either-- (A) is propelled to a significant extent by an electric motor which draws
electricity from a battery that has a capacity of not less than 15 kilowatt hours (or, in the case of a vehicle
that has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, 7 kilowatt hours) and is capable of
being recharged from an external source of electricity, or (B) is a motor vehicle that satisfies the
requirements under § 30B(b)(3)(A) and (B) for being a new qualified fuel cell motor vehicle.

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.02 Section 30C, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit
Section 30C was originally enacted by § 1342(a) of the Energy Policy Act of
2005, Public Law 109-58, 119 Stat. 1049 (Aug. 8, 2005), to provide a credit for the cost
of qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property. Section 30C has been amended
several times since its enactment, most recently by § 13404 of the IRA effective with
respect to qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service after
December 31, 2022, and on or before December 31, 2032.
With respect to such qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property, the
amount of the § 30C credit is equal to 30 percent (6 percent in the case of property of a
character subject to depreciation) of the cost of such property. The § 30C credit with
respect to any single item of qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property is limited
to $100,000 in the case of any such item of property of a character subject to an
allowance for depreciation, and $1,000 in any other case. For purposes of the § 30C
credit, § 30C(c) defines the term “qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property”
(1) by making certain modifications to the term “qualified clean-fuel vehicle refueling
property” as defined in former § 179A of the Code (providing a deduction for clean-fuel
vehicles and certain refueling property) as in effect prior to its repeal, (2) adding
bidirectional charging equipment to that modified definition, and (3) requiring such
property to be located in an eligible census tract, as defined in § 30C(c)(3), which is
either a low-income community as described in § 45D(e) or not an urban area.
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3
Section 30(e)(6) provides that references in § 30C to § 179A are references to former § 179A as in
effect immediately before its repeal by Public Law 113-295, div. A, title II, §221(a)(34)(A), 128 Stat. 4042
(December 19, 2014). Section 30C(c)(1) generally defines the term “qualified alternative fuel vehicle
refueling property” to have the same meaning as the term “qualified clean-fuel vehicle refueling property”
would have under former § 179A, if: (A) former § 179A(d)(1) (limiting deduction to property of a character

4

Section 30C(d) addresses the application of § 30C with other credits. Section
30C(e) provides special rules for purposes of § 30C. Section 30C(f) provides a special
rule for electric charging stations for certain vehicles with two or three wheels for
purposes of the § 30C credit. Section 30C(g)(1) provides that the amount of § 30C
credit for any qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property of a character subject to
an allowance for depreciation that is part of a qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling
project is multiplied by 5 if certain prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are
met.
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Section 30C(g)(4) grants the Secretary authority to issue regulations or other
guidance to administer the wage and apprenticeship requirements of § 30C(g), and
§ 30C(h) authorizes the Secretary to prescribe such regulations as necessary to carry
out the provisions of § 30C.
SECTION 3. REQUEST FOR COMMENTS
The Treasury Department and the IRS request comments on questions arising
under § 45W and the amendments to § 30C that should be addressed in guidance.
Commenters are encouraged to specify the issues on which guidance is needed most
quickly as well as the most important issues on which guidance is needed. In addition

subject to the allowance for depreciation) did not apply to property installed on property which is used as
the principal residence (within the meaning of § 121 of the Code) of the taxpayer, and (B) only the
following were treated as clean-burning fuels for purposes of former § 179A(d): (i) Any fuel at least 85
percent of the volume of which consists of one or more of the following: ethanol, natural gas, compressed
natural gas, liquified natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or hydrogen; (ii) Any mixture-- (I) which consists
of two or more of the following: biodiesel (as defined in § 40A(d)(1) of the Code), diesel fuel (as defined
in § 4083(a)(3) of the Code), or kerosene, and (II) at least 20 percent of the volume of which consists of
biodiesel (as so defined) determined without regard to any kerosene in such mixture; (iii) Electricity;
(iv) Any transportation fuel (as defined in § 45Z(d)(5) of the Code).

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These requirements are satisfied if the construction of the facility begins prior to 60 days after the
Treasury Department and IRS publish guidance with respect to these requirements, or the requirements
are satisfied. Similar provisions were added by the IRA to several other Code provisions. See Notice
2022-51 requesting comments on prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. General comments
pertaining to the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements should be submitted in response to
Notice 2022-51.

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to general comments, the Treasury Department and the IRS request comments that
address the following specific questions:
.01 Credit for Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicles (§ 45W)
(1) What factors should be considered, and what data sources should be relied
on, to determine whether a vehicle is “comparable in size and use” for purposes of the
comparable vehicle definition in § 45W(b)(3) to determine incremental cost?
(2) What, if any, guidance is required to clarify the definition of mobile machinery
for the purposes of § 45W(c)?
(3) Section 45W(d)(1) provides that rules similar to the rules under § 30D(f)
without regard to the income limitations in § 30D(f)(10) or the manufacturer’s suggested
retail price limitations in § 30D(f)(11), apply for purposes of section 45W. The
applicable rules in § 30D(f) are basis reduction, no double benefit, property used
outside the United States not qualified, recapture, election not to take the credit,
interaction with air quality and motor vehicle safety standards, and one credit per
vehicle. What aspects of § 30D(f) should apply to the § 45W credit without modification
and what aspects should be modified?
(4) Section 45W(d)(3) provides that no § 45W credit is allowed with respect to
any vehicle for which a credit was allowed under § 30D. What, if any, guidance is
required to ensure that the allowance of credit under § 30D precludes the allowance of
a credit under § 45W for the same vehicle?
(5) The definition of qualified commercial clean vehicle in § 45W(c)(1) contains
several requirements including that the vehicle be made by a qualified manufacturer as
required by § 30D(d)(1)(C), as amended by the IRA. What, if any, guidance is

6

necessary for qualified manufacturers to comply with the requirements of § 45W(c)(1)?
(6) Section 45W(c)(3)(A) requires that a qualified commercial clean vehicle must
either (i) satisfy the requirements under § 30B(b)(3)(A) and (B) for being a new qualified
fuel cell motor vehicle, or (ii) be propelled to a significant extent by an electric motor
which draws electricity from a battery that has a capacity of not less than 15 kilowatt
hours (or, in the case of a vehicle which has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than
14,000 pounds, 7 kilowatt hours) and is capable of being recharged from an external
source of electricity. How should “significant extent” be defined for this purpose?
(7) Is guidance necessary to clarify the meaning of the term “property of a
character subject to an allowance for depreciation” for purposes of § 45W(c)(4)?
(8) Please provide comments on any other terms in § 45W that may require
definition or additional guidance.
.02
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (§ 30C)
(1) Is guidance necessary to clarify the meaning of the term “property of a
character subject to an allowance for depreciation” for purposes of § 30C?
(2) Section 30C(b) provides that the credit is allowed with respect to any single
item of qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property. How should “single item” be
defined for this purpose?
(3) Section 30C(c)(2) provides that property does not fail to be qualified
alternative fuel vehicle refueling property solely because such property is capable of
charging the battery of a motor vehicle propelled by electricity, and allows discharging
electricity from such battery to an electric load external to such motor vehicle. What
factors and definitions should be considered in developing guidance for qualified

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alternative fuel vehicle refueling property that is also bidirectional charging equipment?
(4) Section 30C(e)(3) requires qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property
to be placed in service in an eligible census tract. What guidance, if any, is needed to
clarify the definition of eligible census tract?
(5) Section 30C(e)(5) provides that recapture rules similar to the rules of former
§ 179A(e)(4) apply for purposes of § 30C. What aspects of §§ 30C and former 179A
should apply without modification for this purpose and what aspects should be
modified?
(6) Please provide comments on any other terms in, or topics related to, § 30C
that may require definition or guidance.
SECTION 4. SUBMISSION OF COMMENTS
.01 Written comments should be submitted by December 3, 2022. Consideration
will be given, however, to any written comment submitted after December 3, 2022, if
such consideration will not delay the issuance of guidance. The subject line for the
comments should include a reference to Notice 2022-56. Comments may be submitted
in one of two ways:
(1) Electronically via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov

(type IRS-2022-56 in the search field on the regulations.gov homepage to find this
notice and submit comments).
(2) Alternatively, by mail to: Internal Revenue Service, CC:PA:LPD:PR (Notice
2022-56, Room 5203, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C., 20044.
.02 All commenters are strongly encouraged to submit comments electronically.
The Treasury Department and the IRS will publish for public availability any comment
submitted electronically and on paper to its public docket on www.regulations.gov
.

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SECTION 5. 60-DAY RULE NOT EFFECTUATED FOR THE PREVAILING WAGE
AND APPRENTICESHIP REQUIREMENT

For purposes of §§ 30C, 45, 45L, 45Q, 45U, 45V, 45Y, 45Z, 48, 48C, 48E, and
179D of the Code, the publication of this notice requesting comments is not the
publication of guidance with respect to the prevailing wage and apprenticeship
requirements, and it is not relevant in determining whether the prevailing wage and
apprenticeship requirements are satisfied under such sections. The Treasury
Department and the IRS will explicitly identify when guidance with respect to the
prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements that is relevant for determining
whether such requirements have been satisfied for purposes of §§ 30C, 45, 45L, 45Q,
45U, 45V, 45Y, 45Z, 48, 48C, 48E, and 179D is published.
SECTION 6. DRAFTING INFORMATION
The principal author of this notice is the Office of Associate Chief Counsel
(Passthroughs & Special Industries). However, other personnel from the Treasury
Department and the IRS participated in its development. For further information
regarding this notice, call the energy security guidance contact number at (202) 317-
5254 (not a toll-free call).