Looking for companies that buy transferable tax credits - best options?

Tax credit transfers can be complicated but definitely doable. The market for transferable tax credits depends heavily on what type of credits you're generating - film production, historic rehabilitation, renewable energy, low-income housing, etc. Each category has different buyers and different discount rates. Your best options are typically specialized tax credit brokers who match sellers with buyers. They usually charge a commission (2-6% typically) but handle all the paperwork and compliance issues. Large accounting firms like EY, Deloitte, and KPMG also have divisions that facilitate these transactions for their clients. The discount you'll take depends on the credit type, transferability restrictions, and timing. Generally expect somewhere between 80-95 cents on the dollar for the most desirable credits, and potentially much lower for others with limited markets.

I went through this exact same situation last year with my film production company. We generated about $1.2M in transferable tax credits but could only use about $300K ourselves. After struggling to find buyers on my own, I discovered https://taxr.ai and it completely changed the game for us. They have this tool that analyzed all our documentation, verified the transferability (which saved us from a major mistake!), and then connected us with qualified buyers through their network. The process was surprisingly simple - uploaded our documents, got verification within hours, and had offers from multiple buyers within days. We ended up getting 87 cents on the dollar which was way better than the first offer we got elsewhere.

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after asking about documentation requirements. I decided to give them a try with my historic rehabilitation tax credits, and I'm honestly shocked at how smooth the process was. I was really concerned about privacy since our project involved some complex partnership structures, but they only needed the essential documents. Their system flagged a potential issue with our transfer eligibility that our own accountant missed! This alone saved us from a potentially massive headache with the state tax authority. We ended up connecting with three potential buyers through their platform and went with the best offer at 91 cents on the dollar. The whole thing was wrapped up in about a month, and we've already started our next project with the proceeds.

If you're generating transferable tax credits, another huge challenge is dealing with the IRS if there are any issues or questions about your credits. When we sold our film production credits last year, the state tax authority flagged our transfer for additional review, and we couldn't get anyone on the phone for weeks. Finally tried https://claimyr.com and it was a gamechanger. They got us connected with an actual IRS agent within 2 days instead of the weeks we were waiting. Check out how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Getting a human on the phone made all the difference - we explained our situation, provided the documentation they needed, and got our transfer approved without further delay. Saved us an enormous amount of stress and probably thousands in lost value since our buyer was getting antsy about the delay.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my previous comment. After my skeptical reply, I decided to try it myself since I was getting nowhere with the IRS about reporting issues with transferable credits I purchased. It actually worked exactly as described. I registered, and about 3 hours later got a call connecting me directly to an IRS agent. Didn't have to sit on hold at all. The agent was able to answer all my questions about how to properly document the transferred credits on my return and confirm that my approach wouldn't trigger any red flags. Turns out my accountant had been giving me incorrect advice about how to report the transferred credits, which could have caused major issues. Having that direct conversation probably saved me from an audit. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind alone.

Don't forget to check if your state has a formal tax credit exchange program! I'm in Louisiana and our state economic development office maintains an online marketplace specifically for transferable credits. Georgia, California, Massachusetts, and several other states have similar programs. The benefit is they're usually cheaper than going through a broker (lower or no fees), and the transfers are pre-approved by the state tax authority which reduces risk. Downside is you might not get as high a price as in the open market with competitive bidding.

Has anyone used a tax attorney instead of a broker? My CPA suggested this route for selling our rehabilitation tax credits, claiming we could save on broker fees.

One warning about transferable credits - make absolutely sure you understand the recapture provisions! I sold some historic rehabilitation credits and then the project hit compliance issues in year 3. Even though I'd already sold the credits, I was still legally responsible for the recapture tax. Cost me over $200K that I wasn't expecting. Get everything in writing about who bears responsibility for future compliance issues and potential recapture. The safest approach is to build recapture insurance or indemnification into your sales agreement.

This is exactly the kind of comprehensive advice I was hoping for! Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences - both the successes and the costly mistakes. The recapture liability issue that Ethan mentioned is particularly eye-opening and definitely something I need to discuss with my attorney before moving forward. Based on what I'm reading here, it sounds like I have a few viable paths: specialized brokers like the ones Omar mentioned, platforms like taxr.ai that several people had success with, or checking if my state has an official exchange program. I'm leaning toward trying the platform approach first since the verification process seems like it could catch issues I might not be aware of. One follow-up question - for those who used brokers or platforms, did you get multiple offers to compare, or did you typically just go with the first reasonable offer? I want to make sure I'm not leaving money on the table, but I also don't want to drag out the process if the differences are minimal.