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| Incentive
Type: |
Personal Tax Credit |
| Eligible
Renewable/Other Technologies: |
Solar Water Heat,
Photovoltaics, Wind, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps,
Other Solar Electric Technologies |
| Applicable
Sectors: |
Residential |
| Amount: |
30% |
| Maximum
Incentive: |
Solar-electric systems
placed in service before 2009: $2,000
Solar-electric systems placed in service after 2008: no
maximum
Solar water heaters placed in service before 2009: $2,000
Solar water heaters placed in service after 2008: no
maximum
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| Carryover
Provisions: |
Excess credit may be carried
forward to succeeding tax year |
| Equipment/Installation
Requirements: |
Solar water heating property
must be certified by SRCC or by comparable entity endorsed
by the state in which the system is installed. At least
half the energy used to heat the dwelling's water must be
from solar. |
| Authority
1: |
26
USC § 25D |
| Date
Enacted: |
8/8/2005 (subsequently amended) |
| Date
Effective: |
1/1/2006 |
| Expiration
Date: |
12/31/2016 |
| Authority
2: |
IRS
Form 5695 & Instructions: Residential Energy Credits |
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Summary:
Note: The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 does not allow taxpayers eligible for the residential
renewable energy tax credit to receive a U.S. Treasury Department grant
instead of taking this credit.
Established by the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, the
federal tax credit for residential energy property initially applied
to solar-electric systems, solar water heating systems and fuel cells.
The
Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424)
extended the tax credit to small wind-energy systems and geothermal
heat pumps, effective January 1, 2008. Other key revisions included an
eight-year extension of the credit to December 31, 2016, the ability
to take the credit against the alternative minimum tax, and the
removal of the $2,000 credit limit for solar-electric systems
beginning in 2009. The credit was further enhanced in February 2009 by
The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1: Div.
B, Sec. 1122, p. 46), which removed the maximum credit amount for all
eligible technologies (except fuel cells) placed in service after
2008.
A taxpayer may claim a credit of 30% of qualified expenditures for a
system that serves a dwelling unit located in the United States and
used as a residence by the taxpayer. Expenditures with respect to the
equipment are treated as made when the installation is completed. If
the installation is on a new home, the "placed in service"
date is the date of occupancy by the homeowner. Expenditures include
labor costs for onsite preparation, assembly or original system
installation, and for piping or wiring to interconnect a system to the
home. If the federal tax credit exceeds tax liability, the excess
amount may be carried forward to the succeeding taxable year. The
excess credit can be carried forward until 2016, but it is unclear
whether the unused tax credit can be carried forward after then. The
maximum allowable credit, equipment requirements and other details
vary by technology, as outlined below.
Solar-electric property
- There is no maximum credit for systems placed in service after
2008. The maximum credit is $2,000 for systems placed in service
before January 1, 2009.
- Systems must be placed in service on or after January 1, 2006,
and on or before December 31, 2016.
- The home served by the system does not have to be the
taxpayer’s principal residence.
- Note that the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has
published a three-page
document that provides answers to frequently asked questions
regarding the federal tax credits for solar energy.
Solar water-heating property
- There is no maximum credit for systems placed in service after
2008. The maximum credit is $2,000 for systems placed in service
before January 1, 2009.
- Systems must be placed in service on or after January 1, 2006,
and on or before December 31, 2016.
- Equipment must be certified for performance by the Solar Rating
Certification Corporation (SRCC) or a comparable entity endorsed
by the government of the state in which the property is installed.
- At least half the energy used to heat the dwelling's water must
be from solar in order for the solar water-heating property
expenditures to be eligible.
- The tax credit does not apply to solar water-heating property
for swimming pools or hot tubs.
- The home served by the system does not have to be the
taxpayer’s principal residence.
- Note that the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has
published a three-page
document that provides answers to frequently asked questions
regarding the federal tax credits for solar energy.
Significantly, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
repealed a previous limitation on the use of the credit for eligible
projects also supported by "subsidized energy financing."
For projects placed in service after December 31, 2008, this
limitation no longer applies.
History
The federal Energy
Policy Act of 2005 established a 30% tax credit (up to $2,000)
for the purchase and installation of residential solar electric and
solar water heating property and a 30% tax credit (up to $500 per 0.5
kilowatt) for fuel cells. Initially scheduled to expire at the end of
2007, the tax credits were extended through December 31, 2008, by the Tax
Relief and Health Care Act of 2006.
In October 2008, the Energy
Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 extended the tax credits
once again (until December 31, 2016), and a new tax credit for small
wind-energy systems and geothermal heat pump systems was created. In
February 2009, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
removed the maximum credit amount for all eligible technologies
(except fuel cells) placed in service after 2008. |
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Contact:
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Public Information
- IRS
U.S. Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20224
Phone: (800) 829-1040
Web Site: http://www.irs.gov |
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