The Railroad Track Maintenance Tax Credit, also known as the 45G Tax Credit, is a federal income tax credit for track maintenance conducted by short lines and regional railroads in the United States. The credit granted an amount equal to 50 percent of qualified track maintenance expenditures and other qualifying railroad infrastructure projects. It was inserted into the tax code by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, and was taken into effect on January 1, 2005 with an expiration date of December 31, 2009. Following the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, signed into law on December 17, 2010, the tax credit was retroactively extended for 2010 and the expiration date moved to January 1, 2012. [1] United States fiscal cliff legislation retroactively reinstated the tax credit for 2012 when signed into law January 2, 2013. The tax credit is effective through December 31, 2022. [2]
In the United States, short line and regional railroads grew exponentially following railroad deregulation in 1980. By 2005 there were more than 500 railroads of this nature, serving small and mid-sized towns that otherwise would have lost rail service. These railroads were responsible for supporting more than 11,000 industrial sites, making them critically important to the local economies of the regions they serve. [3] Maintenance costs for rail infrastructure is often expensive and difficult for low income railroads to cover, as a result some railroads partnered with the companies they served in order to fund maintenance. In order to assist the railroads with maintaining their infrastructure, the Railroad Track Maintenance Tax Credit was created. With more than $330 million in shortline infrastructure investment made annually, credits of $165 million would be placed back in the hands of the railroads and shippers through the tax credit. [3]
Highway and road infrastructure is maintained by federal and state governments. Freight rail infrastructure is maintained by private sector investments. Short lines use approximately 184 million gallons of fuel to move 10 million carloads of freight annually. Trucks would require 540 million gallons to move the same freight. Short lines keep 30 million truckloads per year off the highway. [4]
The tax credit originated with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The credit was capped at $3,500 per mile of track, with eligibility for Class II and Class III railroads, any shippers who transport property using a Class II or Class III railroad, and companies that perform maintenance on or provide material to qualified railroads. [5] With the passing of the act in October 2004, the effective date for the credit was December 31, 2004, with a scheduled expiration date of January 1, 2008, a period of three years.
As scheduled, the tax credits originally expired on January 1, 2008. However, under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the tax credit was extended through December 31, 2009. [6] Expiration occurred for the second time as scheduled, however, an extension of the Railroad Maintenance Tax Credit was included in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Under the new legislation, the credit was retroactively applied to the 2010 tax year and extended through January 1, 2012. [1]
United States fiscal cliff legislation retroactively reinstated the tax credit for 2012 when signed into law January 2, 2013. [7] After being delayed, the tax credit was again retroactively applied, this time to the 2018 tax year and extended through December 31, 2022. [2]
Internal Revenue Service Form 8900 is used to claim the tax credit by the taxpayer at a maximum of $3500 per short line track mile per year or 50% of qualified railroad track maintenance paid or incurred during the year whichever is less. Form 8900 is used to assign tax credits between eligible taxpayers who have come to an agreement to transfer tax credits. Eligible taxpayers for this credit are short line railroads, transporters who use the railroad property and any taxpayer who furnishes goods and services to a short line railroad. Shareholders or partners of these eligible taxpayer may receive a passthru of these credits on form K-1. [8]
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and trak, the latter itself a sensational spelling of track.
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter rails, meant for lower speed or less heavy traffic, and few, if any, signals. Sidings connected at both ends to a running line are commonly known as loops; those not so connected may be referred to as single-ended or dead-end sidings, or stubs.
The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a short line railway that operates in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. CBNS operates of main line and associated spurs between Truro in the central part of the province to Point Tupper on Cape Breton Island.
The CargoSprinter is a freight multiple unit designed to transport freight or equipment. The CargoSprinter was designed by Windhoff GmbH (Germany) in the mid-1990s.
Progressive Rail Inc. is a shortline railroad and owner of several other shortlines. PGR is directly operating several separate branches in Minnesota including the Airlake Terminal Railway. Progressive Rail also acquired the Wisconsin Northern Division in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and operates as a separately-named division. They also own the Chicago Junction Railroad, Clackamas Valley Railway, the Iowa Traction Railway and Iowa Southern Railway in Iowa, the Piedmont & Northern Railroad, the Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad in Illinois, the St. Paul & Pacific Northwest Railroad, and the Wisconsin Northern Railroad.
The Maryland Midland Railway is a Class III short-line railroad operating approximately 63 miles of track in central Maryland. It was originally headquartered in the former Western Maryland Railway station in Union Bridge, Maryland: it has since moved to a new facility across from the old station. The railroad has been 87.4% owned by Genesee & Wyoming since 2008, with Lehigh Cement retaining a 12.6% interest.
The Portland and Western Railroad is a 516-mile (830 km) Class II railroad serving the U.S. state of Oregon, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of shortline and regional railroad holding company Genesee & Wyoming Inc. The PNWR includes a subsidiary, the Willamette and Pacific Railroad.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and formerly in Australia.
The Connecticut Southern Railroad is a 90-mile (140 km) long short-line railroad operating in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company was formed in 1996 as a spinoff of Conrail by shortline holding company RailTex and subsequently acquired in 2000 by RailAmerica. Since 2012, it has been a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. CSO is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut, site of its Hartford Yard. The company also operates East Hartford Yard.
The Indiana Northeastern Railroad is a Class III short line freight railroad operating on nearly 130 miles (210 km) in southern lower Michigan, northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. The Indiana Northeastern Railroad Company began operations in December 1992 and is an independent privately owned company. As of 2017 the railroad hauled more than 7,000 carloads per year. Commodities moved by the railroad include corn, soybeans, wheat and flour. It also handles plastics, fiberboard, aluminum, copper, coal, perlite, stone, lumber, glass, rendering products, as well as agricultural fertilizers and chemicals.
The Nonbusiness energy property tax credit, in the United States, provides a nonrefundable personal tax credit for Federal income tax purposes, for making a home more energy efficient. This credit was added to the Internal Revenue Code by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The nonbusiness energy property credit expired on December 31, 2017, but was retroactively extended for tax years 2018 and 2019 on December 20, 2019 as part of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. Further information about the legislation that extended the credit is at IRS.gov/Extenders.
The phrase Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed originally during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama, through:
A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are categorized by operating revenue, and most shortline railroads fall into the Class III or Class II categorization defined by the Surface Transportation Board.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Great Recession, the primary objective of this federal statute was to save existing jobs and create new ones as soon as possible. Other objectives were to provide temporary relief programs for those most affected by the recession and invest in infrastructure, education, health, and renewable energy.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, also known as the 2010 Tax Relief Act, was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 17, 2010.
The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad is a short-line railroad operating on trackage mostly in Bucks and Montgomery counties to the north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created in 2011, taking over former operations from CSX Transportation. The Pennsylvania Northeastern Railroad interchanges with CSX in Lansdale, the East Penn Railroad in Telford, and the New Hope Railroad in Warminster.
The United States fiscal cliff refers to the combined effect of several previously-enacted laws that came into effect simultaneously in January 2013, increasing taxes and decreasing spending.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was enacted and passed by the United States Congress on January 1, 2013, and was signed into law by US President Barack Obama the next day. ATRA gave permanence to the lower rates of much of the "Bush tax cuts".
The Salem Branch is a rail freight line in the southwestern part of New Jersey in the United States between the Port of Salem and Woodbury Junction where it and the Penns Grove Secondary converge with the Vineland Secondary, approximately 8.5 miles (13.7 km) south of Pavonia Yard in Camden.
Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern Railroad is a Class II freight railroad operating across South Dakota and southern Minnesota in the northern plains of the United States. Portions of the railroad also extend into Wyoming and Nebraska. It is owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming. The primary commodities shipped are grain, clay, and cement. Operations began on June 1, 2014.