Treasury Department and IRS Guidance Encourages Fuel Producers Eligible for Clean Fuel Production Credit to Register as Soon as Possible

On May 31, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-49 for the Clean Fuel Production Credit. The Inflation Reduction Act allows a credit for the production of clean transportation fuels beginning on January 1, 2025. For purposes of the Clean Fuel Production Credit, transportation fuel is divided into two broad categories of fuel: sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and non-SAF transportation fuel. According to the IRS, the credit is equal to the product of the applicable amount per gallon (or gallon equivalent) for any transportation fuel that is produced by the taxpayer at a qualified facility during the taxable year and the emissions factor for such fuel as determined under the code. The notice states that a taxpayer must have a signed registration letter from the IRS dated on or before January 1, 2025, to be eligible to claim the credit for production starting January 1, 2025. According to the notice, the IRS intends to process completed applications for registration received by July 15, 2024, so that an eligible taxpayer can receive its letter of registration by January 1, 2025. The IRS “cautions that a taxpayer that applies for registration after that date is less likely to receive its registration by January 1, 2025. In no event can the IRS guarantee that any application for registration will be processed by a certain date.” The Treasury Department and the IRS intend to issue additional guidance on other aspects of the credit “at a later date.”