Giraffe Aims to Make Tax Credit Process Less of a Stretch

Climate financial tech company Giraffe Financial has launched a service focused on making Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits accessible to underserved small- and medium-sized businesses and tax-exempt organizations such as local governments, school districts with bus fleets, and nonprofits. Giraffe streamlines the process of finding, claiming, and monetizing IRA tax credits to help these organizations navigate what can be a prohibitively difficult process.

The IRA represents over $1 trillion in tax credits to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies in the U.S. As a result of the IRA, there has been a surge of investment in clean technologies, and the value of associated tax credits is projected to grow from $50 billion to $100 billion per year by 2032.

"We built Giraffe to address the paradox that many of the organizations the IRA is intended to support are the least equipped to take advantage of it; we're bringing IRA tax credits within reach for a broader audience," said Giraffe co-founder and CEO Jason Prince.

While most financial service providers have focused on supporting tax credit transferability — typically involving larger, well-resourced players transferring an eligible tax credit to a third-party buyer for cash — long-awaited tax rules related to Direct Pay issues were finalized in April 2024.

Direct Pay is an innovative mechanism that allows tax-exempt entities — which were historically excluded from taking advantage of tax credit incentives — to receive direct payment from the IRS for their clean technology investments. Now that the rules are final, the biggest hurdle is for potential recipients to navigate claiming these credits. That process is far from simple and is especially daunting for smaller or resource-constrained organizations without access to in-house tax experts or the budget to hire large, expensive consultancies.

"We built Giraffe to address the paradox that many of the organizations the IRA is intended to support are the least equipped to take advantage of it; we're bringing IRA tax credits within reach for a broader audience," said Prince. "With final rules now in hand, it's time to get moving on building out more solar, storage, and EV charging technology across the U.S. We're making tax credits far more accessible for entities that don't have the wherewithal to become tax experts themselves."

Giraffe is an AI-powered, end-to-end tax preparation solution that's intended to provide the education and clear guidance necessary for users to claim financial benefits with ease and ensure more clean energy technologies are deployed. Through its user-friendly site, Giraffe allows organizations to:

• Discover potential credits: This includes sharing information on the user's likely eligibility and the estimated value of the credit.
• Generate new credits: Users will receive clear guidance on navigating the IRS process involved and staying in compliance with all necessary rules.
• Monetize credits: This includes helping Direct Pay organizations navigate unfamiliar territory and helping users to aggregate, insure, and sell credits they've already obtained.

Giraffe supports tax-exempt users pursuing investments in EVs, EV charging, renewable energy, and energy storage projects. These users can access step-by-step assistance to claim the Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W), Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C), and the Investment Tax Credit (48).

Giraffe also is working with private sector customers of varying sizes. One partner, power solutions provider Cummins, is working with Giraffe to support dealers that are in the process of electrifying school bus fleets and transitioning to clean energy. Giraffe is ensuring that Cummins' dealers have access to the guidance and expertise needed to navigate grant and IRA rebate and tax incentive opportunities.

Other users already working with Giraffe for IRA tax credit support include Butte Valley Unified School District, Weed Union Elementary, EVC Holdings, FuSE, Bird Bus, and EV charging solution providers like SWTCH, Skycharger, and XCharge.

"When we were first introduced to Giraffe, we were excited to hear that they could help us secure tax credits that would effectively reduce our out-of-pocket costs to $0 as we moved to purchase electric school buses and the associated charging infrastructure," said Jared Pierce, superintendent-principal for Butte Valley Unified School District. "We see Giraffe's services and expertise as a major asset for navigating the tax credit process and helping bring this project to fruition."

"Partnering with Giraffe unlocks significant value for our customers by offering energy storage and EV charging IRA tax credits," said Aatish Patel, president and co-founder of XCharge North America. "This collaboration is allowing us to significantly help customers reduce their total cost of ownership and expedite their path to profitability."

"There are many benefits to having electric vehicle charging stations at a business or other property, yet implementation can be costly and complex," said Dan Coyne, founder and partner of EVC Holdings. "Giraffe is making the important IRS tax credit component significantly easier for its customers."

Giraffe was built by a team of clean energy finance experts who have successfully leveraged public and private capital to deploy more than $20 billion in advanced transportation and manufacturing technologies. It was spun out of the Momentum X climate finance venture studio and is backed by its two parent companies, Momentum and Skyview Ventures. The startup recently closed a $1.5 million pre-seed venture capital funding round led by Skyview Ventures with participation from angel investors representing leading EV OEM, EV charging, AI, carbon, and environmental commodity organizations.

"The vast majority of IRA tax credit beneficiaries to date have been private-sector companies. In fact, just 2% of successful IRA tax credit applicants have been tax-exempt, Direct Pay organizations. And it's not because they're ineligible; it's because they're not getting the support they need," said Andy Karetsky, president of Skyview Ventures. "Billions of dollars in value are being left on the table. It's bad for the American economy and it's slowing the deployment of clean technologies. Giraffe is filling this specific market need in a way that hasn't been done before, and we're optimistic about the impact they'll have, to say the least."