Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship Bonus Credit Solutions
Laura Cataldo
Director
Cory R. Wendt
Principal
Joel M. Laubenstein
Principal
Gideon Gradman
Baker Tilly Capital, LLC Managing Director
Thomas E. Unke
CPA
Principal
Prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PW&A) is the most powerful bonus credit under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. PW&A requires organizations to pay all skilled trade workers the prevailing wage, a combination of hourly pay and benefits, and to use qualified apprentices. Projects that comply with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are eligible for a 5x enhanced credit.
Is your organization eligible for IRA credits or have you been awarded a 48C credit? Projects that are compliant with prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements are eligible to earn five times the base credit.
PW&A bonus credit compliance solution
Our end-to-end technology solution makes compliance for IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements simple. The compliance portal leverages, LCPtracker, a trusted payroll tracking system, to ingest and certify payroll. Together our systems and people effectively tackle the three pillars of compliance: prevailing wage, apprenticeship and penalties. This process ensures that you comply with the stringent recordkeeping rules of the IRS throughout the duration of the credit to preserve and maximize the credit while minimizing any potential penalties.
Learn more about PW&A
Dive into the solution
We’re with you every step of the way
Though the final PW&A guidelines may seem similar to Davis-Bacon at first glance, they are actually quite different and complex. That's where we come in. Our compliance solution and PW&A specialists will ensure your organization avoids significant penalties or even the risk of losing the enhanced credit. Get ahead of PW&A compliance today.
- What to expect
- The portal process
- Portal resources
What to expect
- Consistent interpretation of IRA guidance
- Templates for apprenticeship requests and supplemental wage determinations
- Identification of local registered apprenticeship programs
- Program training delivered to contractors
- Custom tools for the client and program to monitor PW&A compliance
- Notification to clients when trending towards noncompliance
- Tax credit filing final deliverable generated
The portal process
- Contractors submit weekly payroll into LCPTracker and our new PW&A compliance portal
- Contractors certify prevailing wage is paid and generate a certified payroll
- “Certified payroll” ensures compliance with prevailing wage, immediately
- Apprenticeship and penalty evaluated by Baker Tilly, against certified payroll, daily
Portal resources
- Documentation of compliance for audit file
- Governance of good faith effort
- Calculation of apprentice wage
- Cataloging expected penalties
- Governance of wage determinations
PW&A FAQ
Maximizing the credit value is not easy. Contrary to what many in the construction industry think, substantiating PW&A is not simply compliance with Davis-Bacon and Related Acts prevailing wage provisions. Receiving the enhanced credit requires ongoing and prompt cure of noncompliance, payment of penalties and substantial record-keeping. Manual record keeping on Excel spreadsheets will not be enough. Discover the full IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements.
Guiding insights
Final regulations released for prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements
Treasury finalizes IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, clarifying compliance for enhanced credits under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Why Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is not the same as Davis-Bacon
IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements can significantly enhance the value of tax credits for qualifying energy projects, a five times multiplier. However, unlike Davis-Bacon, compliance is complex and challenging to verify.
A municipality’s guide to prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created game-changing opportunities for non-taxable entities to take advantage of direct payment provisions, in lieu of energy incentives and tax credits.
Investor-owned utility companies engage with Baker Tilly to provide prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance
Learn how Baker Tilly assisted two different investor-owned utility companies with prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PW&A) compliance and why getting PW&A specialist involved is crucial.
Navigate prevailing wage and apprenticeship guidance to earn 5x enhanced IRA credit value
Discover how proactive management of prevailing wage and apprenticeship guidance can maximize tax credits and minimize penalties. Explore Baker Tilly’s solution for claiming IRA credits.
Streamlining Inflation Reduction Act prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance
Explore how the Inflation Reduction Act prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance differs from Davis-Bacon regulations, discover strategies to maximize tax credit potential and navigate compliance complexities for contractors and project owners.
How to substantiate prevailing wage and apprenticeship to earn the 5X bonus credit
Watch this on-demand recording for the latest updates on how to claim the IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PW&A) bonus credit. Our industry specialists will also provide an overview of our new PW&A compliance portal.
Inflation Reduction Act proposed regulations released regarding prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements
The Internal Revenue Service and Department of the Treasury issued proposed regulations and addressed frequently asked questions about the prevailing wage and apprenticeship under the Inflation Reduction Act
Further guidance released on qualifying advanced energy tax project credit allocation program
The IRS Notice 2023-44 (Notice) provides further guidance on the application for, and award of, $10 billion in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) credits.
Bonus energy credit domestic content requirements: Preliminary IRS guidance
Notice 2023-38 provides initial guidance on how taxpayers can satisfy the domestic content requirements and qualify for one of the bonus energy credit structures under the Inflation Reduction Act.
IRA: prevailing wage and apprenticeship guidance
The IRS has issued Notice 2022-61 (Notice) which imposes guidance around several new requirements to obtain the many energy efficient tax breaks extended by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Requirements to pay prevailing wages and offer apprenticeship programs do not apply for projects that have “begun construction” within 59 days of the guidance released on Nov. 30, 2022.
Contractors eligible for enhanced tax credits for energy projects, if they follow apprentice and prevailing wage rules
Here is a summary of the IRA prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for energy-related projects.
