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Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects can carry federal tax credit compliance requirements from construction through the credit period. For Section 45Q projects, those requirements can include prevailing wage and apprenticeship during construction, prevailing wage for alteration and repair, prohibited foreign entity restrictions, and beginning-of-construction requirements. Which requirements apply depends on the project and timeline.
Empact protects tax credit value by combining AI-enabled technology with specialized expertise to identify and resolve compliance issues and maintain the record for the life of the credit.
Carbon capture compliance does not end at construction. For Section 45Q projects, prevailing wage requirements can extend to alteration and repair work during the credit period. That means the compliance record may need to capture qualifying work years after the facility is placed in service.
The challenge is maintaining that record as work continues over time. Certified payroll and job classifications for alteration and repair work may need to be collected years after the original project team has moved on. NexusIQ™, Empact's AI-enabled compliance platform, maintains the underlying evidence across the credit period, while dedicated compliance specialists work with the project team to resolve issues as they emerge.
| Credit | What it covers | What Empact manages |
|---|---|---|
| Section 45Q, carbon oxide sequestration credit | Carbon captured from industrial and power facilities, and direct air capture, where the project meets Section 45Q requirements | PWA documentation during construction, prevailing wage documentation for alteration and repair during the credit period, PFE compliance requirements, and supporting compliance records |
Tax rules and guidance continue to evolve. Which requirements apply depends on the project's facts, timing and credit pathway.
Empact maintains the compliance record against the requirements applicable to each project.
Section 45Q does not carry domestic content, energy community or low-income community bonus adders.
Compliance obligations reach every party on a project. Empact works with each of them.
The requirements depend on the project's credit, facts and timeline. For Section 45Q projects, compliance considerations can include prevailing wage and apprenticeship during construction, prevailing wage for alteration and repair during the credit period, prohibited foreign entity restrictions, and beginning-of-construction requirements. Empact identifies issues as they emerge, works with the project team to resolve them, and maintains the compliance record throughout the credit period.
Section 45Q is a federal tax credit for capturing and sequestering or utilizing qualified carbon oxide. It can apply to qualifying carbon captured from industrial facilities, power facilities and direct air capture projects. The credit is claimed over a credit period beginning when the qualifying carbon capture equipment is placed in service.
Prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements can determine whether a taxpayer qualifies for the increased Section 45Q credit amount, unless an applicable exception applies. During construction, both prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements may apply. Prevailing wage requirements also apply to qualifying alteration and repair work during the credit period, while apprenticeship requirements do not apply to that post-construction work.
No. Section 45Q does not carry the domestic content, energy community or low-income community bonus adders available to certain other clean energy credits. Compliance for Section 45Q projects instead centers on the requirements that apply to the credit and project, including prevailing wage and apprenticeship, prohibited foreign entity restrictions, beginning of construction and the supporting compliance record.
Compliance should be addressed early enough to capture required evidence as sourcing, contracting and construction decisions occur, and it should continue after the facility is placed in service. Alteration and repair work during the credit period can carry prevailing wage obligations, so the compliance record may need to remain active well beyond construction.
Empact manages federal clean energy tax credit compliance, identifying and resolving issues across projects and contractors.
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