5O-2.002. Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit  


Effective on Wednesday, April 1, 2015
  • 1(1) Pursuant to Section 5220.192, F.S., 7this rule allows an eligible taxpayer to seek a credit for corporate income taxes in an amount equal to 75 percent of all eligible costs. Eligible costs are capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs incurred between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2016, made in connection with an investment in the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100), as defined in Rule 745F-2.001, 75F.A.C., ethanol (E10-E100), as defined in Rule 825F-2.001, 83F.A.C., and other renewable fuel in the state as defined in Section 95220.192, F.S. 97This rule does not apply to the tax return filing process regulated by the Florida Department of Revenue.

    115(a) Capital costs include fixed, one-time expenses incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction, and equipment for the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100), ethanol (E10-E100), and other renewable fuel in the State of Florida.

    152(b) Operation and maintenance costs include the expenses that are directly related to the process of producing, storing, or distributing biodiesel (B10-B100), ethanol (E10-E100), and other renewable fuel in the State of Florida.

    185(c) Research and development costs include expenses associated with the investigation and testing for developing a new or improved product or process.

    207(d) Costs without a direct connection to the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100), ethanol (E10-E100), and other renewable fuel are not eligible costs under this rule. Examples include expenses related to telephones and cell phones, cleaning products or cleaning services, paper products, food, beverage, office supplies, lodging, per diem, and automobiles that are not used to transfer a renewable fuel or feedstock.

    271(e) Costs that have been previously submitted by the applicant, or another applicant, and approved by the Office for a Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit, are not eligible costs under this rule.

    305(2) Pursuant to Section 309220.192(1)(c), F.S., 311the total amount of tax credits issued pursuant to this rule will not exceed $1 million per state fiscal year for each taxpayer with a limit of $10 million per state fiscal year for all taxpayers.

    347(3) A taxpayer seeking a Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit must apply to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Energy (Office) as follows:

    374(a) Applicants must complete and submit a Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit Application, FDACS-01918 (Rev. 01/15).

    392(b) Applications must be received by the Office, located at 600 South Calhoun Street, Suite 251, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001, either by certified mail or hand delivery. Applications for Fiscal Year 2014-2015 must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on March 2, 2015. Applications for Fiscal Year 2015-2016 will be accepted beginning at 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on July 1, 2016, and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on August 31, 2016.

    4731. Certified mail means the service provided by the United States Postal Service whereby the sender is provided with a mailing receipt and delivery record.

    4982. Hand delivery means any physical submission of an application to the Office from a representative of an applicant, courier, or a private delivery service.

    523(c) Applications received before 9:00 a.m. on July 1 or after 5:00 p.m. on August 30 of each fiscal year of the program will not be reviewed nor secure a place in the first-come, first-serve application line.

    560(d) Applications must include the information required by the application form. All fields and sections must be complete. If for any reason the information required is not applicable, the applicant must note in the specified field either “not applicable” or “n/a”. Applications that are not fully completed or do not include the required information, including blank fields, will be returned as incomplete.

    622(e) Applications must include a summary that describes how the costs included in the application are being used in connection with an investment in the production, storage, and distribution of biodiesel (B10-B100), ethanol (E10-E100) or other renewable fuels in Florida, including the costs of constructing, installing, and equipping such technologies. The summary must also include the location where the investment occurred.

    683(f) Applications must include an itemized list of eligible costs that includes:

    6951. Page numbers of the invoices and corresponding proof of payment;

    7062. Invoice date;

    7093. Invoice number;

    7124. Method of payment;

    7165. Payment date;

    7196. Description of the cost;

    7247. If the cost was incurred under capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, or research and development costs;

    7428. A subtotal for capital costs;

    7489. A subtotal for operation and maintenance costs;

    75610. A subtotal for research and development costs; and,

    76511. A total of all eligible costs.

    772(g) Applications must include both the invoice and corresponding proof of payment for all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and research and development costs for which the applicant is seeking a Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit. All invoices and corresponding proof of payments must be numbered. Applications must include an explanation if the amounts on the invoice and corresponding proof of payment do not match. Legible copies of the documents, in place of originals, will be accepted. If the Office determines the application or supporting documentation is illegible, the application will be determined incomplete.

    8691. Applicants are encouraged to redact instances of bank account and credit card numbers (except the last 4 digits) and all financial information not pertaining to the eligible cost represented on the application.

    9022. Acceptable forms of proof of payment may include, but are not limited to:

    916a. A canceled check with proof of deposit;

    924b. A copy of an electronic funds transfer from a financial institution including the purchase amount and to whom the payment is being made;

    948c. A bank statement or a screenshot of an online bank statement reflecting the payment showing the purchase amount and to whom the payment is being made;

    975d. A signed and executed lease contract;

    982e. A credit card statement reflecting the transaction showing the applicants’ name, address, the purchase amount, and to whom the payment is being made; or

    1007f. A signed and executed promissory note or signed and executed loan.

    10193. The proof of payment must contain:

    1026a. The payment amount of the eligible cost;

    1034b. The date of payment for the eligible cost; and,

    1044c. The name of the vendor from whom the eligible cost was purchased or leased.

    10594. The invoice must contain at least:

    1066a. The name and address of the seller from whom the eligible cost was purchased or leased;

    1083b. The price of the eligible cost; and,

    1091c. A description of the eligible cost.

    1098(h) A registered agent as defined in Section 1106607.0501, F.S., 1108officer, or director with an active registration with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations must complete the sworn statement, included as part of the application form, and swear that the information contained in the application and supporting documentation is true and correct and the requirements of Section 1157220.192, F.S., 1159and this rule have been met.

    1165(4) In addition, applicants must submit with the completed application a description of the project’s economic impact in Florida. Examples of such information include:

    1189a. The total dollar value of the additional investment in purchases of machinery and equipment made as a result of the project that is eligible for the tax credit incentive;

    1219b. The total dollar value of the additional investment in construction of buildings made as a result of the project that is eligible for the tax credit incentive;

    1247c. The total number of jobs created as a result of the project that is eligible for the tax credit incentive; and,

    1269d. The total dollar value of salaries and wages of jobs created as a result of the project that is eligible for the tax credit incentive.

    1295(5) Each fiscal year of the program, a taxpayer is allowed to submit one Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit Application, FDACS-01918 (Rev. 01/15) based on eligible costs incurred in a particular fiscal year.

    1330(6) A taxpayer claiming a Florida Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit under Section 1343220.193, F.S., 1345is ineligible to claim a credit under this program.

    1354(7) Applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, based upon the date complete applications are received by the Office. Incomplete placeholder applications will not be accepted and will not secure a place in the first-come, first-served application line.

    1394(8) The Office may request additional or clarifying information or documentation from the applicant. The Office will continue to review applications in the first-come, first-served application line. Once the applicant has successfully completed and returned the request for additional or clarifying information or documentation, the application will be added back to the first-come, first-served application line based upon the date the completed request is received by the Office.

    1462(9) Within 90 days of receipt, the Office will evaluate the application to verify that the applicant has met the qualifying statutory and rule criteria.

    1487(a) If the Office determines that the applicant is eligible for a tax credit, the Office will return the original application with the certification of eligibility box completed as a written certification that the applicant is eligible for a tax credit.

    1528(b) If the Office determines that the application failed to meet a qualifying statutory or rule criteria, the Office will determine the application incomplete. The Office will issue a written notification to the applicant that the application was determined incomplete, including justification for the determination. If the Office determines that an application is incomplete, the taxpayer must submit a corrected application. The corrected application will not keep its place in the first-come, first-served application line and will be reviewed in the order that it is received.

    1614(c) If the Office determines the corrected application is eligible for a tax credit, 1628the Office will return the corrected application with the certification of eligibility box completed as a written certification that the applicant is eligible for a tax credit within 60 days of receipt of the corrected application. 

    1664(10) Supporting documentation will not be returned to applicants.

    1673(11) The Office will provide the Florida Department of Revenue a copy of each certification issued upon approval of an application.

    1694(12) If the annual tax credit authorization amount is exhausted within a particular state fiscal year, the Office will grant any remaining credits in that particular state fiscal year to the next application in the first-come, first-served application line and return the original application with the certification of eligibility box completed as a written certification that the applicant is eligible for a partial tax credit. Pursuant to Section 1762220.192(4), F.S., 1764the applicant must reapply for the next fiscal year of the program in order to receive a tax credit for the remaining approved amount. Supporting documentation is not required for applications that the Office has determined meets the qualifying statute and rule criteria and are reapplying due to exhaustion of funds within a particular state fiscal year. Applications that the Office determined meets the qualifying statute and rule criteria, but did not receive a credit due an exhaustion of funding will keep their place in the first-come, first served application line for the next fiscal year. The second partial tax credit granted in the next state fiscal year of the program will not be counted as the one application each taxpayer is allowed to submit per state fiscal year of the program.

    1896(13) Pursuant to Section 1900220.192(4), F.S., 1902if an eligible applicant does not receive a tax credit allocation due to an exhaustion of the annual tax credit appropriation within a particular state fiscal year of the program, the applicant must reapply for the next fiscal year of the program in order to receive a tax credit, if any credits are available. Supporting documentation is not required for applications that the Office determined meets the qualifying statute and rule criteria, but did not receive a credit due an exhaustion of funding. Applications that the Office determined meets the qualifying statute and rule criteria, but did not receive a credit due an exhaustion of funding will keep their place in the first-come, first served application line for the next fiscal year.

    2024(14) If the tax credit authorization amount is exhausted for the final year of the program, the Office will notify applicants that funding for the program has been exhausted without further review of the application.

    2059(15) The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will not disburse any funds in connection with the Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit program. Certificates granted will not result in the payment of refunds by the Florida Department of Revenue if the total credits exceed the amount of tax owed. Each certified applicant is responsible for attaching the certified application to its annual tax return filed with the Florida Department of Revenue.

    2133(16) Materials Incorporated by Reference. The Florida Renewable Energy Technologies Investment Tax Credit Application, FDACS-01918 (Rev. 01/15) is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. The form may be obtained by contacting the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Energy, at 600 South Calhoun Street, Suite 251, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001, or emailing Energy@FreshFromFlorida.com, and is available online at: 2193http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-049682195.

    2196Rulemaking Authority 2198220.192(7) FS. 2200Law Implemented 2202220.192 FS. 2204History–New 5-2-13, Amended 4-1-15.

     

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