Don't Mess With Taxes

Singer-songwriter James Taylor provided the soundtrack for the White House's Sept. 13 celebration of the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. (White House photo via Facebook)

The Biden Administration this week celebrated the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) with a ceremony on the White House lawn.

And while a government report on inflation that came out the same day warned of continuing inflation costs, President Joe Biden and attendees didn't let the new dampen the festivities. The White House insists that the IRA will work as planned, and Biden touted the law's provisions, including the climate-change-prompted energy provisions, during the event.

New website for energy tax breaks: However, many of the energy tax breaks in the new $739 billion law are, shall we say, confusing. So the White House also this week launched the CleanEnergy.gov website.

This online resource is designed to help individuals interested in the tax savings on things such as electric vehicles (EVs), solar energy systems, and basic home appliances.

The CleanEnergy site has basic information, but really is a hub for the clean energy components in the IRA. As the image below from the website shows, it will redirect users to other government sites that have more detailed information on the associated energy-related tax breaks.

Visitors are sent to pages such as Energy.gov's solar energy resources for consumers, and the Internal Revenue Service's site for drivers who are considering a plug-in electric drive vehicle. EnergyStar also gets several links.

The CleanEnergy graphic's garage is likely to get a lot of clicks as people explore where the new EV tax credit will work for their driving needs. As noted, here on the ol' blog and elsewhere, while this new tax break can help with auto purchases, the IRA contains many new restrictions, too, that could disqualify some EVs.

More energy info to come: In some cases, however, the CleanEnergy.gov and referral web pages are bit thin, especially when it comes to the complicated EV requirements.

White House officials acknowledged that situation, and promises that this is just the first phase of the website. It will be upgraded as more IRA provisions go into effect.

You can sign up for email updates to know when there are updates to the sites with more on the IRA's tax credits and energy rebates.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Treasury, IRS issue initial guidance on new EV tax credits
• Alternative energy home upgrades could net you utility and tax savings
• EV buyers prefer rebates to tax credit; switch could save Uncle Sam money, too

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