We study the optical properties of tetravalent vanadium impurities in 4H\nsilicon carbide (4H SiC). Emission from two crystalline sites is observed at\nwavelengths of 1.28 \\mum and 1.33 \\mum, with optical lifetimes of 163 ns and 43\nns. Group theory and ab initio density functional supercell calculations enable\nunequivocal site assignment and shed light on the spectral features of the\ndefects. We conclude with a brief outlook on applications in quantum photonics.\n