30D manufacturer FAQs

In response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 environment the 30B-30D Credit Program has implemented temporary procedures to allow the transmission of certification and quarterly report documents by email. These procedures are in place until 10/31/2023. Participants may use eFax or email to submit documents electronically, which contain a digital signature or signature image.

Signatures:

• Signature images (scanned or photographed)
• Digital Signatures (which use encryption techniques that provide proof of original and unmodified documentation)
• Both signature image and digital signature options are available for the following file types: tiff, jpeg, jpg, pdf, Microsoft Office suite, or Zip.

Electronic Submission (eFax, email):

• The choice to transmit the documents electronically is that of the manufacturer. If you have questions or concerns regarding this option, please send them (without attachments) to the Program Mailbox: *LB&I 30B-30D Program.
• A statement MUST be included in the electronic transmission (cover letter for fax, or within body of email):
  • “The attached [name of document] includes [name of person signing document]’s valid signature and the taxpayer intends to transmit the attached document to the IRS.”
  • Documents will not be processed until the above statement is provided or confirmed by phone, if not included in the submission.
• eFax is an established and secure system which is being extended to the 30B-30D Program during this time. To use eFax please send a message requesting the eFax number to the mailbox below. This number will not be listed publicly.
• For those who elect to use email for transmission, a program mailbox *LB&I 30B-30D Program has been established for this purpose.
  • Note that the transmission of unencrypted email over the internet is not secure.
  • If email is used, please keep any sensitive information out of the subject line and body of the email. The use of password-protected encrypted attachments, such as SecureZip, is encouraged.
  • If you have questions regarding transmission options, please email them to the program mailbox (*LB&I 30B-30D Program).

Electronic acknowledgement (eFax, email):

• eFax and email transmission have been approved for acknowledgement, but we are currently securing approval for the Director, ECPA, to administer an electronic signature.
• Please be sure to include on any certification/sales report submissions the name, phone number and email/eFax contact information to be used by the Service for acknowledgement documents.

Internal Revenue Service
Director, Eastern Compliance Practice Area
2001 Butterfield Road, Mail Stop 5413
Downers Grove, IL 60515

Quarterly sales reporting pursuant to the notice should reflect only the sales to a party for which state title passes for the first time.

Among other requirements, Section 5.05 of the notice states that the quarterly report must contain "[t]he number of qualified vehicles sold by the reporting entity to consumers or retail dealers during the calendar quarter." Furthermore, Section 1 of the Notice states, "[t]his notice also amplifies Notice 2009-54 and Notice 2009-58, 2009-30 I.R.B. 163 (relating to the plug-in electric vehicle credit under § 30) to provide that a vehicle is considered "acquired" when title to that vehicle passes under state law." Specifically, Section 4.07 of the Notice provides that "[a] vehicle is not "acquired" before the date on which title to that vehicle passes under state law." Additionally, Section 1 of the Notice states, "[t]his notice also provides guidance to taxpayers who purchase motor vehicles regarding the conditions under which they may rely on the vehicle manufacturer's (or, in the case of a foreign vehicle manufacturer, its domestic distributor's) certification in determining whether a credit is allowable with respect to the vehicle and the amount of the credit." The aforementioned guidance to taxpayers who purchase motor vehicles can only be provided if the quarterly sales report specifically indicates the number of qualified vehicles that were "acquired for use or lease by the taxpayer and not for resale."

Accordingly, quarterly sales reports should reflect only the sales to a party for which state title passes for the first time. The reference to "retail dealers" in Section 5 of the Notice has been included for situations involving the dealership placing the vehicle into service by securing title to the vehicle (such as loaner or demo vehicles) and should not be interpreted to mean that manufactures should only report their sales to retail dealers. However, a dealer that secures state title to a new qualified plug-in electric drive vehicle and places the new qualified plug-in electric drive vehicle into service should be reflected in the quarterly sales report.

Therefore, for the Notice to serve its purpose of properly notifying motor vehicle purchasers of the conditions allowing them to rely on manufactures certifications to determine the credit allowance and amount, the quarterly sales reports should reflect only the sales to a party for which state title passes for the first time.

No. Two entities that are part of the same controlled group under section 30D(e)(4), as discussed below, would not qualify for separate volume caps.

Overview of Section 30D "controlled group"

Pursuant to Code section 30D(a), a credit is allowed for each new qualified plug-in electric vehicle placed in service by the taxpayer during the taxable year ("30D credit"). The 30D credit limitation rules for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles eligible for the 30D credit are set forth in section 30D(e). Specifically, section 30D(e)(2) provides that the phase-out period for the 30D credit begins with the second calendar quarter following the calendar quarter when the "manufacturer" of the qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles sells 200,000 vehicles for use in the United States. Section 30D(e)(4) defines the term "manufacturer" to include all entities within the same "controlled group."

The term "controlled group" is defined in section 30D(e)(4), which applies the rules of section 30B(f)(4). Section 30B(f)(4)(A) states, "all persons treated as a single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 shall be treated as a single manufacturer." As relevant here, and as described more fully below, section 52(a), through the application of section 1563(a), creates four independent tests to define "controlled group" for purposes of applying the 200,000-vehicle limitation for related entities to be treated as a single manufacturer for the 30D credit.

Section 52(a)

This section defines what is considered ownership for purposes of a controlled group of corporations. Under this section, the term "controlled group of corporations" has the same meaning given by section 1563(a), except "more than 50%" is substituted whenever "at least 80%" is used in section 1563(a)(1), ignoring sections 1563(a)(4) and (e)(3)(c). The definition under 1563 is extensive and discusses four different fact patterns in which a corporation could be considered a controlled group.

1. Under section 1563(a)(1), a parent-subsidiary controlled group, where there are one or more chains of subsidiary corporations in which the common parent corporation possesses stock of at least 80% (50% for 30D purposes) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock for each subsidiary;
2. Under section 1563(a)(2), a brother-sister controlled group, including two or more closely-held corporations (with five or fewer individuals, estates, or trusts) that own stock possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power or ownership of all classes of stock so long as the corporations' stock ownership is identical to each other;
3. Under section 1563(a)(3), a combined group which entails three or more corporations in which one corporation of the group is a common parent corporation described in (a)(1) and is included in a group of corporations described in (b)(2); or
4. Under section 1563(a)(4), certain insurance companies are considered to have common control, but this situation is not relevant to this inquiry.

Section 52(b) describes other conditions for ownership, but they are not relevant to determining whether two or more related entities are considered as a single entity for purposes of applying the 200,000-vehicle limitation in section 30D(e).

The irs.gov site focuses on identifying the vehicles which qualify for the Section 30D New Qualified Plug-In Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit in an easy to understand manner for the general public. The listing is by manufacturer, or brand, even if some may be under a shared volume cap. When a phase out level is reached, which includes the controlled groups, all affected manufacturer/brand names listed are updated to include the phrase "Phase Out Initiated."