Title 26 › Subtitle A — Income Taxes › CHAPTER 1 — NORMAL TAXES AND SURTAXES › Subchapter A — Determination of Tax Liability › PART IV — CREDITS AGAINST TAX › Subpart D — Business Related Credits › § 45X
Gives a tax credit to makers who produce certain clean-energy parts in the United States (or U.S. possessions) and sell them to an unrelated buyer as part of their business. The credit is the total of per-item amounts. Key amounts: thin film or crystalline photovoltaic cells get 4 cents per direct-current watt; solar modules get 7 cents per direct-current watt; photovoltaic wafers get $12 per square meter; solar-grade polysilicon gets $3 per kilogram; polymeric backsheets get $0.40 per square meter; torque tubes get $0.87 per kilogram; structural fasteners get $2.28 per kilogram. Inverters get a per-watt credit that depends on type (central 0.25 cents, utility 1.5 cents, commercial 2 cents, residential 6.5 cents, micro/distributed 11 cents per alternating-current watt). Wind: purpose-built offshore wind vessels get 10% of their sales price; other wind parts get a small per-watt amount based on the part (blade 2 cents, nacelle 5 cents, tower 3 cents, offshore foundation fixed 2 cents or floating 4 cents) times the turbine’s rated wattage. Electrode active materials get 10% of production costs. Battery cells get $35 per kilowatt-hour and battery modules get $10 per kilowatt-hour (or $45 per kilowatt-hour if the module has no cells), subject to a capacity-to-power ratio limit of 100:1. Applicable critical minerals generally get 10% of production costs (2.5% for metallurgical coal). Only parts made and sold in a trade or business count. Sales to related parties can count if treated as sales to an unrelated buyer by election and after any required IRS registration or information. Selling a component that is later integrated into another product still counts when that final product is sold to an unrelated buyer. Credits phase down for sales after December 31, 2029: 75% in 2030, 50% in 2031, 25% in 2032, and 0% after 2032. Critical minerals (other than metallurgical coal) phase down one year later: 75% in 2031, 50% in 2032, 25% in 2033, and 0% after 2033. Wind components are not eligible if produced and sold after December 31, 2027. Metallurgical coal is not eligible if produced after December 31, 2029. Defined terms include eligible component (solar, wind, certain inverters, qualifying battery parts, and listed critical minerals), inverter types (central, utility, commercial, residential, microinverter, distributed), solar and wind component lists, qualifying battery components, and applicable critical minerals (many named minerals such as aluminum, lithium, nickel, and metallurgical coal). No credit is allowed for taxpayers that are specified foreign entities or certain foreign-influenced entities, or when those entities have effective foreign control over the component.
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Internal Revenue Code, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
26 U.S.C. § 45X
Title 26, Internal Revenue Code
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110