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IRS offers guidance on energy-efficient homes and production

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New guidance and proposed regulations are out from the Internal Revenue Service for the federal energy-efficient home improvement credit.  

For property placed in service beginning in 2023, a taxpayer may take a 30% credit for the total amount of certain energy-efficient products or for a home energy audit. The credit is limited to certain amounts, per taxpayer and per tax year: A taxpayer may claim up to $3,200, with a general total limit of $1,200, and a separate total limit of $2,000 for electric or natural gas heat pump water heaters, electric or natural gas heat pumps, and biomass stoves or boilers that meet certain requirements.  

The $1,200 general limit includes limitations specific to certain types of qualified property: $600 for any item of qualified energy property; $600 in total for exterior windows and skylights; $250 for an exterior door; and $600 in total for exterior doors. Home energy audits are limited to $150. 

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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Beginning in 2025, for each item of specified property placed in service, no credit will be allowed unless the item was produced by a qualified manufacturer and the taxpayer includes the PIN for the item on the taxpayer’s tax return.  

The guidance provides procedures and requirements that a manufacturer of specified property must follow to be treated as a qualified manufacturer, including how to register with the IRS and use product identification numbers.

Soon manufacturers will also be able to use the free IRS Energy Credits Online Portal to register with the IRS. The portal will also incorporate validation checks and other risk-mitigation measures and allow for monitoring of metrics. 

Final regulations are also available for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit established by the Inflation Reduction Act. This tax credit is for the production and sale of specified eligible components to unrelated persons, with such components including solar and wind energy components, inverters, qualifying battery components and 50 applicable critical minerals. The components must be produced in the U.S. or one of its territories.

The regulations generally define qualifying production activities, provide rules for the sale of eligible components to unrelated persons as well as special rules that apply to sales between related persons, and provide rules to address contract manufacturing scenarios. Also included are definitions of eligible components and rules related to calculating the credit, including eligible production costs and recordkeeping and reporting requirements. 

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CrowdStrike says DOJ, SEC sent inquiries on firm accounting

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CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. said U.S. officials have asked for information related to the accounting of deals it’s made with some customers and said the cybersecurity firm is cooperating with the inquiry.

The Austin, Texas-based company said in a filing Wednesday that it has gotten “requests for information” from the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission “relating to the company’s recognition of revenue and reporting of ARR for transactions with certain customers.” ARR refers to annual recurring revenue, a measure of earnings from subscriptions.

The company said the federal officials have also sought information related to a CrowdStrike update last year that crashed Windows operating systems around the world.

“The company is cooperating and providing information in response to these requests,” the filing states.

U.S. prosecutors and regulators have been investigating a $32 million deal between CrowdStrike and a technology distributor, Carahsoft Technology Corp., to provide cybersecurity tools to the Internal Revenue Service, Bloomberg News first reported in February. The IRS never purchased or received the products, Bloomberg News earlier reported.

The investigators are probing what senior CrowdStrike executives may have known about the $32 million deal and are examining other transactions made by the cybersecurity firm, Bloomberg News reported in May.

Asked for comment about the filing, CrowdStrike spokesperson Brian Merrill said, “As we have told Bloomberg repeatedly, this is old news and we stand by the accounting of the transaction.” 

A lawyer for Carahsoft previously declined to comment on the federal investigations, and representatives didn’t respond to subsequent requests for comment about them.

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Elon Musk urges Americans take action to ‘kill’ Trump tax cut bill

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Tech titan Elon Musk ratcheted up his offensive against Donald Trump’s signature tax bill on Wednesday, urging that Americans contact their lawmakers to “KILL” the legislation.

“Call your Senator, Call your Congressman,” Musk wrote in a social media post. “Bankrupting America is NOT ok!”

The post came one day after Musk lashed out at the tax bill, describing it as a budget-busting “disgusting abomination” as Republican fiscal hawks stepped up criticism of the massive fiscal package. 

Trump hasn’t publicly responded to Musk’s comments, but the White House put out a statement Wednesday saying the legislation “unleashes an era of unprecedented economic growth.” 

And House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that Musk is “dead wrong” about the bill and that the tax cuts will pay for themselves through economic growth.

Musk’s public condemnation pits him against the president at a critical time as Trump is personally lobbying holdouts on the bill. His campaign against the legislation threatens to stiffen resistance and delay enactment of the tax cuts and debt ceiling increase. 

Musk has attacked the legislation days after leaving a temporary assignment leading the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut federal spending. The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer’s high-profile role in the Trump administration eroded his business brand and sales of his company’s electric vehicles plunged. 

The House-passed version of the tax and spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to U.S. budget deficits over the next decade, according to an estimate released Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO’s calculation reflects a $3.67 trillion decrease in expected revenues and a $1.25 trillion decline in spending over the decade through 2034, relative to baseline projections. The score doesn’t account for any potential boost to the economy from the bill, which Johnson and Trump argue would offset the revenue losses. 

Musk, the world’s richest man with a net worth of about $377 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has become a crucial financial backer of the Republican party. After making modest donations most years, Musk became the biggest U.S. political donor in 2024, giving more than $290 million.

Johnson said Musk had promised to help reelect Republicans just a day before savaging Trump’s bill. Musk did not respond to a request for comment. 

Most of Musk’s giving was aimed at electing Trump but he also supported congressional candidates. America PAC, the super political action committee that Musk largely funded, spent $18.5 million in 17 separate House races. Though that total pales in comparison to the roughly $255 million he spent backing Trump, the spending means a lot in a congressional election, where challengers on average raise less than $1 million.

Control of the House will likely be decided by the outcome of fewer than two dozen close races in the 2026 midterm elections. The GOP’s chances of holding their majority would suffer a major blow if Musk were to withdraw his financial support.

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Accounting

M&A Watch: PE fuels deals for CRI, UHY, Prosperity

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Three private equity-backed firms have made deals: Carr, Riggs & Ingram has expanded into East Texas by merging in Axley & Rode; UHY is continuing its expansion in St. Louis by adding Sabino & Co.; and Prosperity Partners moved into Vermont by adding Danaher, Attig & Plante. Meanwhile, Top 100 Firm Sensiba has acquired Australia-based cybersecurity audit and risk assurance firm AssuranceLab.

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