BREAKING: Proposed Tax Credit Extension

ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) have a new website feature helps contractors and Consumers Find Energy Efficiency Incentives – this wonderful page is worth a look here is the link:  http://www.acca.org/consumer/dsire

FP&L (Florida Power & Light) Residential A/C Rebate Schedule link: Rebate Schedule.

Updated 04/26/12: The House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to hear testimony today on various bills to extend the tax incentives that expired at the end of 2011 or will expire at the end of this year.

According to the Joint Tax Committee, there are approximately 70 tax incentives eligible for extension by Congress, many of them are targeted to help small business owners make capital investments in their businesses.

Members of the Congress will have the opportunity to testify in support of legislation to extend expiring tax provisions they have introduced or co-sponsored legislation this year. There is expected to be discussion of extending the tax credit for the installing higher efficiency HVAC equipment (Section 25C), construction of energy efficient homes (Section 45L), the 15 year straight line depreciation for qualified improvements to leasehold, restaurants, and retail buildings (Section 168), bonus depreciation for small businesses (Section 168), and increased expensing allowance to $500,000/$2,000,000 and expansion of Section 179.

As a member of the Residential Energy Efficient Tax Credit Industry Coalition, ACCA submitted testimony urging for the extension and expansion of the residential energy tax credit. The coalition is seeking a robust energy efficiency tax credit for qualified products, including furnaces, central air conditioners, and heat pumps, of 10 percent of the purchase price up to $1,000. The coalition believes that a $1,000 tax credit is generally the minimum incentive needed to motivate consumers to improve their homes by purchasing these higher-performing products, and to do so in sizable enough numbers to positively influence residential energy consumption.

To read the Member Proposals Related To Certain Tax Provisions That Either Expired In 2011 Or Will Expire In 2012, Click here. End of Update 04/26/12.

The Senate version of the tax extender package negotiated by the President Obama and Congressional leaders was released last night. As expected it includes a two year extension of the Bush tax cuts for all income levels, lower capital gains tax rate for investors, increases the exemption for the estate tax to $5 million per individual and lowers the tax rate to 35%, and enacts the Alternative Minimum Tax “patch” for 2010 and 2011, and other pro-small businesses provision.

Unfortunately, while the tax package does include an extension of the 25c nonbusiness energy tax credits, (the official IRS name for the homeowner’s energy efficiency tax credit), last minute modifications were made resetting the credit value to pre-Stimulus bill levels of 10% of the installed costs with maximum credit for all qualified retrofits of $500.

The tax package also reinstates the caps on equipment that were in place in 2006 and 2007. That means the maximum tax credits available to an eligible taxpayer for installing a qualified central air condition and heat pump are $300, and the maximum tax credit available for a qualified furnace or boiler is $150.

The tax extender package also reinstates the  lifetime credit caps which disqualify any homeowner who has claimed more than $500 in 25c tax credits since January 1, 2005, from any further credits.

Finally, the qualifying guidelines for natural gas and propane hot water boilers, and oil furnaces and hot water boilers are increased to 95% AFUE.

I’m still wading through all the language to see what other changes may be buried in the legislative text.

Still no word on whether or not substantive changes will allowed during Senate or House debate, more details about that will be forthcoming, including how you can support any efforts through grassroots action.

Tags: Air Conditioning, cash, clunker, Clunkers, conservation, Cooling, energy, florida, green, high efficiency, HVAC, South Florida, tax credit

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