Section 30C: The EV Charger Tax Credit Ending June 30, 2026

When does Section 30C expire?

Section 30C expires for alternative-fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service after June 30, 2026. This deadline is not the original statutory one. The credit was scheduled to run through December 31, 2032 under the Inflation Reduction Act. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) signed into law in late 2025 accelerated the sunset for EV charging and alternative-fuel infrastructure, while leaving generation-side credits (Section 48E) largely intact. For any business evaluating a commercial EV charger deployment, June 30, 2026 is the single most important date on the 2026 calendar.

“Placed in service” is a term of art. It does not mean ordered, shipped, or even installed. It means the property is in a state of readiness and availability for its specifically assigned function. For an EV charger, that means: hardware energized, network commissioned and communicating, utility meter set, electrical inspection signed, and the unit is capable of delivering a charge to a vehicle. A charger sitting on a pallet in a closet on July 1, 2026 does not qualify, even if the invoice was paid in January.

Section 30C at a glance

Does Section 30C require prevailing wage?

Technically no — but in practice, almost always yes. Without prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA), the base credit is only 6 percent of cost. With PWA, it is 30 percent. On a $500,000 DCFC project that is a $120,000 swing. On a multifamily 25-port project at $275,000 gross, it is a $66,000 swing. The labor premium for PWA compliance on a typical electrical project is 5 to 12 percent, so PWA is net-positive for any credit-eligible project larger than a single-port Level 2.

PWA has two parts. Prevailing wage means every laborer and mechanic on the installation is paid at least the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage for the locality and the applicable labor category for the duration of construction, alteration, or repair. The rate sheet is published by the Department of Labor. Apprenticeship requires that qualified apprentices from a registered apprenticeship program perform a minimum percentage of total labor hours (12.5 percent through 2024, stepping up thereafter) and that specific participation and ratio requirements are met. Good-faith-effort safe harbors exist where apprentice availability is insufficient.

NuWatt handles PWA compliance as part of turnkey delivery: Davis-Bacon payrolls, certified weekly reports, apprentice logs, and the documentation package the IRS expects if audited.

What census tracts qualify for the Section 30C credit?

This is the provision that kills more projects than any other. After the Inflation Reduction Act, Section 30C was narrowed to apply only in two kinds of census tracts:

• Low-income community tracts as defined in Section 45D(e) for New Markets Tax Credit purposes. Very roughly: tracts with poverty rate above 20 percent OR with median family income below 80 percent of area median income.
• Non-urban tracts defined by reference to the Census Bureau's urbanized-area classification. A tract is “non-urban” if it has no portion within an urbanized area (the 2020 Census replaced “urban cluster” with a single 50,000-population urban-area threshold).

The IRS provides a machine-readable list via Notice 2024-20 and the Energy Communities IRA mapping tool. You do not eyeball this. You take the installation address, geocode it to a GEOID (Census Tract 11-digit code), and cross-check the GEOID against the published list. Roughly two-thirds of U.S. census tracts qualify, but many of the dense commercial and suburban office tracts where businesses actually want chargers do not. This is the single largest reason otherwise-qualifying projects miss the credit.

NuWatt runs a tract check on day one. We will not bid a project as 30C-eligible unless the address passes. You can also run a preliminary check yourself using our 30C tract checker tool (beta — confirm results with your NuWatt rep before filing).

How do I claim the 30C credit as a business?

The mechanics are straightforward if you have the documentation. Businesses file IRS Form 8911 (Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit) with their federal income tax return for the year the charger is placed in service. Partnerships and S-corporations file at the entity level and flow the credit to partners or shareholders on Schedule K-1. C-corporations claim the credit directly against corporate income tax liability.

Required documentation package:

• Invoices showing cost basis broken out per item (port, storage unit, dispenser).
• Placed-in-service date evidenced by utility meter set or acceptance test record.
• Census-tract eligibility printout (GEOID plus IRS list reference).
• PWA documentation: certified payroll, apprenticeship logs, DOL wage determination.
• If tax-exempt claiming elective pay: IRS Energy Credits Online pre-registration number.
• If transferring: buyer/seller transfer statement under Section 6418 regulations.

The credit is non-refundable for regular taxpayers. If the business cannot use the full credit in year one, the excess carries forward 20 years under Section 39 (general business credit carryover rules). It can also be transferred (sold for cash) to an unrelated third party under Section 6418 if the taxpayer is eligible.

Can nonprofits use direct pay for 30C?

Yes. This is one of the most under-used features of the post-IRA credit regime. Under Section 6417 (elective or “direct” pay), tax-exempt entities can treat Section 30C as a refundable payment, meaning the IRS cuts a check even when the entity has no federal income tax liability. Eligible entities include:

• 501(c)(3) charities, schools, hospitals, and religious organizations
• State, local, and tribal governments
• Rural electric cooperatives and the Tennessee Valley Authority
• Public universities and community colleges
• Non-profit affordable housing sponsors

Process: (1) pre-register each facility on the IRS Energy Credits Online portal before filing (this takes up to 120 days so start early), (2) complete Form 8911 with the facility registration number, (3) attach Form 3800 with the elective-payment election, (4) file with the entity's annual information return (Form 990-T for 501(c)(3) with UBI, Form 1120-POL for governments, or the special return applicable), (5) receive the refund. Most non-profits use the same turnkey project-structure we describe on our multifamily page, layering 30C direct pay on top of utility rebates.

What is the maximum 30C credit per charger?

$100,000 per item. The interpretation of “item” is the critical nuance. Under the IRS final regulations published in 2024, each individual charging port counts as a separate item of qualifying refueling property — not each pedestal, not each site. So a typical dual-port Level 2 pedestal is two items, with a $200,000 combined cap. A four-port DCFC plaza with integrated battery storage is five items: four charging ports plus one storage unit, capped at $500,000 combined. The cap is generous enough that few projects hit it on a per-item basis, but cost allocation matters for audit defense.

Does 30C apply to L2 or only DCFC?

Both. Section 30C covers Level 2 and DCFC equally, plus bidirectional V2G-capable chargers, and alternative-fuel refueling for CNG, LNG, propane, and hydrogen. It does not cover residential-style NEMA 14-50 outlets, a bare conduit run without dedicated refueling equipment, or the vehicle itself. The hardware must be dedicated to refueling and must meet property-type definitions under Treasury Regulations implementing IRC Section 30C(c).

Common 30C mistakes

We audit every project against the list below before we quote it as 30C-eligible. Your CPA should do the same before filing Form 8911.

• Wrong census tract. Address passed a quick eyeball test but actually sits in a non-qualifying urban tract. Always pull the GEOID and cross-check the IRS Notice 2024-20 list.
• Missed PWA and settled for 6 percent. Skipping prevailing wage and apprenticeship cuts the credit by 80 percent. On any project over $20,000 of eligible basis, the PWA premium is almost always net-positive.
• Per-item confusion. Treating a four-port pedestal as one item instead of four, leaving credit on the table. Or the reverse: double-counting pedestal hardware across multiple ports. Cost allocation should match the hardware's actual port count.
• Placed-in-service date slip. Project substantially complete but utility meter set is delayed past June 30, 2026. Credit disqualified. Build schedule backward from June 30 with 60 days of buffer for utility queue.
• No elective-pay pre-registration. Non-profit files Form 8911 without first completing IRS Energy Credits Online facility registration. IRS rejects the elective-payment election.
• Confusing 30C with 48E. Claiming 30C on a solar canopy, or 48E on the chargers. The two credits sit on different line items with different basis calculations.
• Claiming on ineligible outlets. NEMA 14-50 receptacles or bare-conduit installs are not dedicated refueling property and do not qualify even in a qualifying tract.
• Missing PWA documentation. Project was compliant in the field but did not keep certified payrolls and apprentice logs, so the 30 percent tier cannot be substantiated on audit.

Sources

• IRS Form 8911 — Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, official form and instructions.
• Internal Revenue Code Section 30C, Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, Title 26 U.S.C.
• IRS Notice 2024-20 — Eligible Census Tracts for Section 30C, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-7.
• Treasury Decision TD 9989 — Final Regulations on Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship under Sections 30C, 45, 45L, 45Q, 45U, 45V, 45Y, 48, 48E, 179D.
• IRA Section 6417 — Elective Payment of Applicable Credits, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-12.
• IRA Section 6418 — Transfer of Certain Credits, Final Regulations April 2024.
• Department of Labor Davis-Bacon wage determinations, sam.gov.
• One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 — provisions accelerating Section 30C sunset.

Last verified by NuWatt Incentive Team on 2026-04-14. This page is educational and is not tax advice. Confirm eligibility with your CPA and NuWatt's incentive team before signing a contract or filing Form 8911.