The IRS has issued Notice 2026-53, providing the 2026 emissions rate table and additional guidance on calculating the Section 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit, including rules for agricultural feedstocks, manure-based fuels, and qualifying low-carbon practices.
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on 8 September 2026 that it issued Notice 2026-53, providing the 2026 emissions rate table for calculating the clean fuel production credit, along with additional guidance on the credit.
Notice 2026-53
Notice 2026-53 provides fresh guidance on how agricultural producers and fuel manufacturers should calculate the Section 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit. The notice responds to amendments introduced by the Working Families Tax Cuts (WFTC) legislation, which reshaped the credit’s eligibility requirements and emissions calculation methodology.
The Section 45Z proposed regulations, issued on 4 February 2026 and currently under final consideration by the IRS and Treasury Department, propose rules implementing the WFTC changes to the Clean Fuels Production Credit. The proposed rules address the use of annual emissions rate tables, including which table and models producers should use to determine the emissions rate for a particular fuel.
DOE establishes clean fuel emissions standards following WFTC regulatory updates
The Department of Energy issued a technical notice detailing how clean fuel producers must account for emissions under recent World Fuel Trade Commission changes when using the 45ZCF-GREET model and approved methodologies.
Following the USDA’s finalisation of regenerative agricultural practice rules on 29 June 2026, a safe harbour provision extends through 2025 clean fuel production while the DOE develops corresponding model updates.
The revised standards require emissions rates to exclude indirect land use change; restrict eligible transportation fuel to feedstocks produced or grown exclusively in the US, Mexico, or Canada; prohibit negative emissions rates except for animal manure-derived fuels, which now require distinct rates for each specific feedstock type; and provide transition rules for used cooking oil and other feedstocks until approved methodologies incorporate WFTC compliance measures.
2026 emissions rate table enables agricultural producers to access clean fuel tax credits
The Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit provides larger tax credits for lower-emission transportation fuels, with the 2026 emissions rate table allowing agricultural producers to reflect qualifying low-carbon practices and farm-specific manure management in emissions calculations using USDA technical guidelines and the 45Z Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator.
The guidance establishes distinct emissions rates for dairy and swine manure feedstocks, with Treasury and IRS planning to add poultry and beef manure later in 2026, while providing transition relief through 2026 for fuels produced in 2025 lacking nutrient budget compliance.
Farm-specific manure management practices may be incorporated into emissions calculations, allowing individual farm conditions to be reflected and broadening participation in the domestic biofuels market.
