Form 6497

(Rev. August 2019) 

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service 

Information Return of Nontaxable Energy 

Grants or Subsidized Energy Financing 

▶ Go to www.irs.gov/Form6497 for the latest information.

For calendar year 

OMB No. 1545-0232 

Type 

or Print 

1 Payer’s name 

2a Number and street and apt. or suite no. (Include P.O. box, if applicable.) 

b City or town, state or province, country, and ZIP or foreign postal code

3 Payer’s employer identification number 

4 Payer is agent for 

5 Program name or number 

6(a) Recipient’s name, address, and 

ZIP code 

Complete 6(b) or 6(c) 6(d) Total 

amount of grant 

6(e) Total amount 

of financing 

 

6(b) Recipient’s 

social security number 

6(c) Recipient’s employer identification number 

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see back of form. Cat. No. 24535C Form 6497 (Rev. 8-2019) 
Form 6497 (Rev. 8-2019) Page 2 

Instructions 

Section references are to the Internal Revenue 

Code. 

Future Developments 

For the latest information about developments 

related to Form 6497 and its instructions, 

such as legislation enacted after they were 

published, go to www.irs.gov/Form6497.

What’s New 

New Where-To-File address. See Where To 

File, later, for the current address for filing 

Form 6497. 

Purpose of Form 

Use Form 6497 to report nontaxable energy 

grants or subsidized energy financing made 

under government programs whose principal 

purpose is to conserve or produce energy. 

This reporting is required only for recipients 

that are businesses (including sole 

proprietors). 

Form 6497 lists the information to be 

furnished about the nontaxable energy grants 

or subsidized energy financing, and about the 

recipients. Only one program should be 

reported on each form. This form should also 

be used to report funds received from the 

proceeds of tax-exempt bonds that have 

been used to finance energy conservation or 

production property. 

Grants are always taxable to recipients 

unless specifically exempted by the federal 

statute authorizing the grants. The originator 

of the grant or subsidy program should 

advise all disbursing agents whether the 

program is taxable or nontaxable. Taxable 

grants are reported on Form 1099-G, Certain 

Government Payments. For details, see the 

Instructions for Form 1099-G. 

Who Must File 

Any person (including an Indian tribal 

government) who administers a government 

program for a federal, state, or local 

governmental entity or agent of that entity 

that provides nontaxable energy grants or 

subsidized energy financing for energy 

property to business recipients under 

programs whose principal purpose is energy 

production or conservation must file Form 

6497. If a federal agency is providing the 

funds to a state agency, and the state turns 

the funds over to a bank or similar disburser 

to act as its agent in disbursing the money for 

the above purposes, only the bank, or 

disburser, must file Form 6497 to show the 

actual recipient information. 

Generally, reporting on Form 6497 is 

required only for nontaxable energy grants or 

subsidized energy financing made for energy 

property (as defined in section 48 and the 

regulations under section 48). 

When To File 

File Form 6497 for the calendar year by the 

last day of February following the year of the 

payment. 

Where To File 

LB&I Central Compliance Practice Area 

1919 Smith St., M/S 1000-HOU 

Houston, TX 77002 

Definitions 

Energy grant. An energy grant is a payment 

given outright for property designed to 

conserve or produce energy, with no 

requirement to repay the money. 

Subsidized energy financing. Subsidized 

energy financing is financing (for example, a 

loan) made directly or indirectly under a 

federal, state, or local government program, 

whose principal purpose is to provide 

subsidized financing for projects designed to 

conserve or produce energy. Subsidized 

energy financing can also include financing 

under a federal, state, or local program 

having two or more principal purposes, but (a) 

only if one of the principal purposes is to 

provide subsidized financing for energy 

conservation or production projects, and (b) 

only if the financing is to be used for energy 

production or conservation purposes (the 

“use test”) or is provided out of funds 

designated specifically for energy production 

or conservation. Loan proceeds meet the use 

test only if any loan-related documents 

indicate that the funds are intended for that 

use. 

Financing is made when funds for 

subsidized energy financing are disbursed. 

The source of the funds for a program is not 

a factor in determining whether the financing 

is subsidized. Financing is subsidized if the 

terms of the financing provided to the 

recipient in connection with the program or 

used to raise funds for the program are more 

favorable than terms generally available 

commercially. In addition, financing is 

subsidized if the principal obligation of the 

financing provided to the recipient is reduced 

by funds provided under the program. 

Payer. A payer is any person (including an 

Indian tribal government) who administers a 

federal, state, or local government program 

that provides nontaxable grants or subsidized 

financing under programs whose principal 

purpose is the production or conservation of 

energy. It includes agents (such as a bank) 

that administer federal, state, or local 

government programs and actually make the 

payments to the recipient. 

Recipient. A recipient is the business entity 

(including a sole proprietor) that received the 

grant or financing. 

Specific Instructions 

Line 1. Generally, this will be the name of the 

federal, state, or local governmental entity 

that makes the nontaxable energy grants or 

provides the subsidized energy financing. If 

an entity (such as a bank) is administering a 

program as the designated agent of one of 

the above governmental entities, enter the 

name of the agent and be sure to fill in line 4. 

Lines 2a and 2b. Enter the address where 

any IRS questions about Form 6497 can be 

directed. 

Line 3. Use the employer identification 

number (EIN) for the payer shown on line 1. 

Do not use the social security number of an 

officer or employee. 

Line 4. If line 1 shows the name of an agent, 

use line 4 to show the federal, state, or local 

governmental entity for which the agent is 

administering the program. 

Line 5. Enter the program name or number 

that authorizes the payment. 

Line 6. Make an entry in columns 6(a) 

through 6(e) for each recipient of a 

nontaxable energy grant or subsidized energy 

financing. If you need more space, attach 

additional Forms 6497. 

Column 6(a). Show the name and address 

of the entity that received the nontaxable 

energy grant or subsidized energy financing. 

Do not show the name of an officer, 

employee, etc. 

Column 6(b). Complete this column for 

sole proprietors without EINs. 

Column 6(c). Complete this column if no 

entry was made in column 6(b). 

Column 6(d). Enter the total amount of 

nontaxable energy grants provided to the 

recipient during the calendar year under the 

program shown on line 5. 

Column 6(e). Enter the total amount of 

subsidized energy financing provided to the 

recipient during the calendar year under the 

program shown on line 5. The amount of 

subsidized energy financing may be different 

from the actual amount of money expended. 

Example. If a government agency spent 

$1,000 to permit a $5,000 loan to be made 

with an interest rate lower than it would have 

been otherwise, the amount of subsidized 

energy financing is $5,000. 

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice 

We ask for the information on this form to 

carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the 

United States. You are required to give us the 

information. We need it to ensure that you are 

complying with these laws and to allow us to 

figure and collect the right amount of tax. 

You are not required to provide the 

information requested on a form that is 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

unless the form displays a valid OMB control 

number. Books or records relating to a form 

or its instructions must be retained as long as 

their contents may become material in the 

administration of any Internal Revenue law. 

Generally, tax returns and return information 

are confidential, as required by section 6103. 

The time needed to complete and file this 

form will vary depending on individual 

circumstances. The estimated average time 

is: 

Recordkeeping . . . . 2 hr., 23 min. 

Learning about the law 

or the form . . . . . . . . 24 min. 

Preparing, copying, and 

sending the form to the IRS . . 27 min. 

If you have comments concerning the 

accuracy of these time estimates or 

suggestions for making this form simpler, we 

would be happy to hear from you. You can 

send us comments through www.irs.gov/

FormComments. Or you can write to the 

Internal Revenue Service, Tax Forms and 

Publications Division, 1111 Constitution Ave. 

NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do not 

send this form to this address. Instead, see 

Where To File on this page.