US biodiesel tax incentive set for extension

Chairman of the US House of Representatives’ House Ways & Means Committee, Kevin Brady has released a proposal to make technical corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The National Biodiesel Board (NNB) reports that this is set to extend several tax credits, including the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive.

Brady’s proposal would mean that the current credit rate of $1 per gallon will remain from 2018 through until 2021 but will gradually reduce to $0.33 per gallon by 2024. In 2024, the tax credit would be set to expire.

Over the past five years, Congress has been continually renewing the credit that it had allowed to expire. However, this kind of renewal makes long term planning unpredictable and less stable.   

The National Biodiesel Board’s Vice president of federal affairs Kurt Kovarik states, “The biodiesel industry has long advocated for a long-term tax extension to provide certainty and predictably for producers and feedstock providers. Too often, the credit has been allowed to lapse and then reinstated retroactively, which does not provide the certainty businesses need to plan, invest and create jobs.”