Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of:


	As of
	December 31, 2025		December 31, 2024
Transaction and professional fees	$	14,472	$	20,696
Excise tax payable on FAST II stock redemptions		—		2,211
Accrued payroll and related expenses		801		1,461
Accrued interest		501		1,117
Project-related		223		—
Demand note payable		—		50
Other		432		335
	$	16,429	$	25,870

On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for, among other things, a new U.S. federal 1% excise tax on certain repurchases of stock by publicly traded U.S. domestic corporations and certain U.S. domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign corporations occurring on or after January 1, 2023. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the excise tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year.

In connection with the Business Combination, holders of FAST II Class A Common Stock exercised their right to redeem those shares for a pro rata portion of the cash in the FAST II trust account. These redemptions are subject to the excise tax, and the resulting liability was assumed by the Company in the Business Combination. The Company paid $2.2 million in excise tax, and $0.3 million interest and penalties related to this obligation during the year ended December 31, 2025.