FEOC: MACR safe-harbor tables are due by Dec 31

The rule in one paragraph

Under the 2025 budget law (OBBBA), a facility claiming the clean electricity production or investment credit (Sections 45Y and 48E) does not qualify if construction begins after December 31, 2025 and the construction "includes any material assistance from a PFE" — a prohibited foreign entity. Whether there is material assistance is tested with a material assistance cost ratio (MACR): the share of the facility's manufactured-product costs that does not come from a PFE. Notice 2026-15, released on February 12, 2026, is the guidance taxpayers use today; the IRS announcement (IR-2026-23) summarizes its reach.

The December 31 deadline

The statute requires the Secretary "to issue safe harbor tables … no later than December 31, 2026," identifying the PFE share of costs for manufactured products and components. Until those tables are issued, and for construction that begins on or before 60 days after their issuance, Notice 2026-15 lets a taxpayer:

• use the cost tables of Notice 2025-08 to establish the percentage of total direct costs of listed components; and
• rely on a certification by the supplier of the manufactured product or component.

The IRS release states the same window: the notice applies to 45Y and 48E facilities whose construction begins after December 31, 2025, "until 60 days after the publication of the forthcoming safe harbor tables." Treasury and the IRS also say they intend to propose regulations on the definition of a PFE and on the MACR calculation.

The thresholds in the notice's examples

Notice 2026-15 works through examples rather than restating every year's threshold. Two matter to module buyers:

• Projects starting construction in 2026 — 40%. In the notice's 50 MWdc ground-mount tracker example, a facility whose construction began in 2026 "includes material assistance from a PFE if the Clean Electricity MACR … is less than 40%."
• 45X components sold in 2026 — 50%. For a manufacturer claiming the advanced manufacturing credit, "in the case of any solar energy component sold during calendar year 2026, the Eligible Component MACR cannot be less than 50%."

Later-year thresholds are set in the statute; we will add them when we cite the statutory text directly.

What it means if you are buying modules

• Ask for the paperwork before you sign. In the interim period, a supplier certification is one of the two tools the notice names. Ask who issues it, what it covers (cells, wafers, module), and which cost tables it relies on.
• Entity questions are separate from cost questions. A MACR calculation does not answer whether the supplier itself is a PFE. Look for documentation on both — as we show per product on our FEOC compliance desk, for example for the CW Energy CWT595-144TNB10 and the Mission Solar MSH10-590HN4G.
• Plan for the switch-over. The interim rules cover construction that begins on or before 60 days after the tables are issued; projects starting later cannot rely on them. Budget time for suppliers to re-issue certifications.
• FEOC is not Domestic Content, and neither is 45X. These are three different tests; see our Domestic Content Playbook 2026 and the IRA 45X page.