OBBBA One Year Anniversary: 3 Critical Tax Credit Deadlines You Cannot Miss

One year ago, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA, Public Law 119-21) was signed into law on July 4, 2025. It fundamentally rewrote the rules for clean-energy tax credits — replacing the open-ended residential Investment Tax Credit (Section 25D) with the phased, technology-neutral Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Credit, and setting hard statutory deadlines that are now closing in.

If you're a homeowner considering solar, an EV buyer, or a commercial property owner, three deadlines over the next 18 months will determine whether you can still access federal clean-energy tax incentives. Two are imminent — measured in days, not months. The deadlines and what to do about each are below.

Deadline 1: June 30, 2026 — Section 30C, 179D, and 45L

The first cluster of deadlines hits on June 30, 2026. Three separate provisions expire simultaneously:

• Section 30C (EV charging infrastructure credit) — The 30% credit (up to $1,000 for residential, $100,000 for commercial) for installing EV charging equipment ends. If you've been planning to add a home charger or workplace charging station, this is your last window.
• Section 179D (commercial building energy efficiency deduction) — The deduction for energy-efficient commercial building property is cut off. Commercial building owners undertaking efficiency retrofits lose this tax benefit after June 30.
• Section 45L (new energy-efficient home credit) — The credit for builders and developers of new energy-efficient homes expires. This affects homebuilders constructing qualifying new properties.

Separately, the Section 30D clean vehicle (EV) tax credit of up to $7,500 ended under the OBBBA on September 30, 2025. New EV purchases do not qualify. The related Section 30C EV charger credit expired June 30, 2026. Both deadlines have passed.

Deadline 2: July 4, 2026 — Section 48E Construction-Start

This is the headline deadline for solar homeowners and installers. Section 48E required that construction begin before July 4, 2026 to lock in the 30% federal Investment Tax Credit. The deadline was statutorily July 4 — a Saturday — so the effective cutoff shifts to the next business day, Monday, July 6.

Critically, "construction must begin" does not mean the project must be finished. There are two ways to satisfy the construction-start requirement:

1. The Physical Work Test — actual physical work of a significant nature begins on the project. This can be on-site (panel installation, mounting) or off-site under a binding written contract (equipment fabrication).
2. The 5% expenditure safe harbor — you pay or incur at least 5% of the total project cost. This safe harbor was RESTORED on June 6, 2026 when a federal court vacated IRS Notice 2025-42 (Oregon Environmental Council v. IRS, No. CV-25-4400). The IRS may appeal this ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals — but as of now, both paths are valid.

Section 48E is the mechanism that keeps solar affordable in 2026 — but only through specific ownership structures. Section 25D (the residential ownership credit) expired December 31, 2025, so homeowners who buy their own system for a primary residence no longer get a federal credit. Section 48E fills the gap for leases, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), commercial properties, and rental properties. The installer or developer claims the 30% credit and passes the savings through as lower monthly payments.

For a detailed walkthrough of your specific situation, run our OBBBA Tax Credit Deadline Tracker — it generates a personalized countdown checklist based on your state, property type, and project stage.

Deadline 3: December 31, 2027 — Section 48E Phase-Out Complete

The third deadline is further out but equally absolute. All Section 48E projects must be placed in service by December 31, 2027. This means the system must be fully installed, interconnected, and operating — not just under construction. After this date, Section 48E phases out entirely and no new projects qualify.

This creates a practical runway: if you began construction before July 4, 2026, you have roughly 18 months to complete the installation and get the system energized. The IRS generally allows a 4-year continuum from construction-start to placed-in-service, but the OBBBA statute caps this at December 31, 2027.

Projects that begin construction on time but fail to place the system in service by the end of 2027 lose the credit entirely. Don't assume that starting construction is enough — track your installation timeline against this hard cutoff.

What Homeowners Should Do Now

With two deadlines measured in days, here's the action plan:

1. If you're considering a lease or PPA: Sign a binding written contract immediately. The contract should include explicit language about beginning construction (Physical Work Test or 5% safe harbor) before July 4, 2026. Use our Solar ROI Calculator to model your numbers, then get quotes through a comparison platform.
2. If you already have a signed contract: Verify that your installer has a plan to begin physical work or incur 5% of cost before July 6. Request written confirmation and keep all contracts, deposit receipts, and progress invoices on file.
3. If you're buying (owning) a system for a primary residence: Be aware that Section 25D is gone — there's no federal credit for owned residential systems installed after December 31, 2025. A lease or PPA under Section 48E is the pathway that still captures the 30% federal benefit. Use our Incentive Finder to see what state and local programs are available in your area.
4. If you're buying an EV: Complete the purchase and place the vehicle in service before June 30, 2026 to capture the Section 30D credit (up to $7,500). Verify the vehicle and manufacturer meet FEOC and assembly requirements.
5. Track every deadline: Bookmark the Deadline Tracker for live countdowns to all three cutoffs. The deadlines are absolute — there is no pending legislation to extend them.

State-level incentives vary widely. For example, California's payback analysis shows how net metering policy and local rebates interact with the post-25D rules. Check your state's specific programs to supplement whatever federal credit you can still capture.

Where Things Stand One Year In

One year after OBBBA, the clean-energy tax credit structure is fundamentally different from what it was before July 2025. The open-ended residential credit is gone. What remains is a time-limited, construction-start-gated Section 48E credit that favored leases and PPAs over ownership — and it closed in two phases: the construction-start deadline (July 4, 2026, now passed), and the placed-in-service deadline (December 31, 2027, still open for grandfathered projects).

The homeowners who acted before July 4, 2026 — signing contracts, beginning construction, and documenting everything — locked in the 30% federal benefit. Those who missed the construction-start window will find the federal incentive picture significantly less favorable for new projects.

This article provides general information, not legal or tax advice. The 5% expenditure safe harbor was restored by Oregon Environmental Council v. IRS (No. CV-25-4400, D.D.C. June 6, 2026); the IRS may appeal. Consult a tax professional for your specific situation. Countdowns target 11:59 PM Eastern Time on each deadline date.