Low-Income Communities Bonus Energy Investment Credit Program: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

On June 1, 2023, the IRS issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) regarding the low-income communities bonus energy investment credit program (the LMI Adder) under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This notice followed an initial guidance document published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in February 2023.

It is important for states that are building programs for low-income communities to understand the ins and outs of the proposed LMI Adder program administration so that they can build impactful programs that take advantage of this source of funding for the benefit of their communities. This FAQ document can help communities, nonprofits, and developers better understand what Treasury is proposing and aid them in participating in the policymaking process. Public comments will be received by Treasury until June 30, 2023.

This document first provides a high-level summary of what the NOPR covers, followed by a more in-depth review of the NOPR in the form of an FAQ. This document is not meant to be comprehensive, but we have gathered relevant links, definitions, and maps that we think are useful to understand what the Treasury and the IRS (together referred to as “Treasury” in this document) are proposing in the NOPR.

The goal of this review is to translate the NOPR into more accessible, user-friendly language. Nevertheless, because it discusses tax credits, some jargon is inevitable.

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