Tax Advisory Services for ITC Elective Pay Filing

The Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Tax Advisory Services to support the filing and receipt of federal Investment Tax Credits (ITC) under the elective pay mechanism established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The primary objective is to successfully pre-file for, file for, and receive elective pay for Clean Electricity ITC (Section 48E) for three solar photovoltaic systems on Town property: a 430 kW DC system at Hardy Elementary School (estimated cost $2,456,608.75), a 374 kW DC system at Hunnewell Elementary School (estimated cost $2,182,629.75), and a 46 kW DC system at the Recycling and Disposal Facility administrative building (estimated cost $40,000). The selected Tax Advisor will be responsible for establishing eligibility, determining start-of-construction dates, demonstrating continuous progress compliance, pursuing domestic content bonuses, managing Foreign Entity of Concern and Prohibited Foreign Entity risks, analyzing cost eligibility, preparing IRS filings, and providing post-filing audit support through the applicable statute of limitations period. Qualified proposers must demonstrate extensive expertise in advising tax-exempt governmental entities on claiming ITCs through elective pay for rooftop solar installations on public buildings, with strong accounting, engineering, and legal expertise, and must maintain Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) coverage of at least $2,000,000 per claim/$4,000,000 aggregate, General Liability coverage, and appropriate Cyber/Privacy coverage. Evaluation criteria include overall responsiveness and technical understanding, quality and range of expertise available, depth of relevant experience with elective pay mechanisms for municipal solar projects, capacity to meet project deadlines, and quality of references. Proposals are due by noon Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, May 28, 2026, submitted in physical form to the Town Hall with both non-pricing technical information in one sealed envelope and pricing information in a separate sealed envelope; award is anticipated in June 2026 with a Notice to Proceed issued in June 2026 and contract performance extending through April 2028.

The RFP does not specify set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to particular business categories or disadvantaged enterprises. Pricing shall be structured as a percentage of elective pay received by the client, with separate price proposals required for each of the three solar projects; billing commences only when the Town receives direct pay funds from elective pay, and proposers must provide not-to-exceed (NTE) pricing for authorized services. A Performance and Payment Bond, while included in the standard procurement template, is not required for this engagement, and the Town will accept alternative evidence such as a written statement attesting to the firm's financial capacity in lieu of formal financial statements. The Town is pursuing external funding for the school systems through a Climate Leader Communities Decarbonization Accelerator Grant of up to $1 million from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, with a decision expected in May or June 2026, while for the RDF system only ITC funding via elective pay is being pursued. The contract terms acknowledge that certain factors affecting project compliance or eligibility may be outside the tax advisor's control, including actions or determinations by utilities, permitting authorities, equipment suppliers, contractors, or other third parties, and such uncontrollable factors will not be grounds for adverse evaluation of performance provided the tax advisor exercises reasonable professional diligence. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are identified in the procurement documents.