Article #1529 - Energy Policy Act 2005 and Tax Credits
The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which became available January 1, 2006, provides a variety of tax credits for homeowners, businesses, and manufacturers for purchase of energy-efficient equipment, completion of new energy-efficient buildings, and improvements to existing buildings. The Department of the Treasury amended tax form 1040 to include a line for energy tax credits, in the tax credit section, and has issued regulations specifying what energy efficiency equipment and improvements to existing buildings or new building designs qualify for the credits. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Center hotline is collecting information and will be updating information on the tax credits as it becomes available. You can reach them at 1-877-337-3463. For specific tax advice, of course, please consult your tax preparer.
The U.S. Department of Energy's REScheck
and COMcheck software tools are designed solely for energy code compliance. The "percent improvement" provided for envelope (COMcheck and REScheck) and lighting (COMcheck) are not based on a whole building or performance-based approach. Therefore, they cannot be used to determine percent savings to receive the tax credits described in the Energy Policy Act with the exception of the specific Interim rule for commercial lighting. A separate article provides guidance for this use: COMcheck and the Commercial Building Tax Deduction for Energy-Efficient Lighting
Additional Resources
- Tax incentives for buildings and other efficiency improvements: www.energytaxincentives.org
- Commercial building provisions: www.efficientbuildings.org
- Residential building provisions: www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits
- IRS tax credit rules and information for homeowners: www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154657,00.html
- IRS tax credit rules and information for home builders: www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=154658,00.html