Understanding Financial Incentives

Rebates Tax Credits Inflation Reduction Act IRA Whole House Programs HOMES

The Inflation Reduction Act and other financial incentives

Rebates

Rebates are discounts of the purchase price. They can be implemented in different ways:

For example, your Rural Electric Coop might give you $1,800 after you install a heat pump and fill out a form.
Your utility may give you an effective rebate by offering you wholesale prices when you purchase the heat pump from a selected list of vendors.
The Inflation Reduction Act HEEHRA rebate program will offer discounts off the price at the time of purchase depending on your income level.* For example, low-income households will receive a 100% discount and moderate-income households will get 50% off a heat pump, up to $8,000. To see if you qualify, check out Rewiring America’s Calculator. This rebate program will not be rolled out until 2023/2024. Do not buy now, as the program is NOT retroactive. New Mexico will be in charge of this program.
Total Electrification Rebates discounts across all qualified electrification projects are capped at $14,000 per household.

*Low to Moderate (LMI) households. Low income households have income less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Moderate households make between 80% and 150% of AMI. The calculator above will tell you if you qualify. These limits depend on household size. Here is an older 2022 table for Albuquerque – for example, 2 person household low income maximum is $48,350, and the moderate income range is $48,350-$90,656.

New Mexico residents whose income falls below 200% of Federal poverty level may qualify for free energy efficiency upgrades and utility payment assisstance through these programs.

Tax Credits

Federal and State tax credits are available as of 2023. You apply for a tax credit when you file your taxes to reduce the amount you owe. There are two kinds of tax credits.

Non-refundable tax credits can only be applied up to the amount of taxes you owe. For example, the IRA tax credit for heat pumps is 30% of the cost up to $2,000. So if you spend $8,000 on a heat pump, you could file for a $2,000 tax credit (30% of $8,000 is $2,400, but only $2,000 maximum is allowed). If you owe $2,000 or more in taxes you will be able to subtract $2,000 from your tax bill. If you owe $800 then you will only be able to subtract $800. If you owe no taxes, you will not be able to use the tax credit. The IRA tax credits are non-refundable. In 2020, on average taxpayers paid $4,567 in taxes for adjusted gross incomes between $50,000 and $75,000, and $7,363 for incomes between $75,000 and $100,000.
Refundable tax credits do return the full amount of the credit to you even if you do not owe any taxes. The NM State tax credit is refundable. It is $2,000 for very low-income residents (200% of the Federal poverty level, ~$34,000) and $1,000 for everyone else.

Other facts to know about tax credits:

Federal Tax Credits.

Tax credit numbers come from their location in the U.S. or Internal Revenue Code. For example, 25C.

Use IRS Form 5695 to file for Federal tax credits. The credit is taken on the cost of the equipment (and often installation) minus any rebates (excluding any credits or rebates from the State). Federal Inflation Reduction Act credits are shown in the table.

Read the fine print. Some IRA tax credits have to be used together, e.g., 25C electric panel tax credit has to be used in conjunction with another 25 C upgrade (heat pump, heat pump water heater) or 25 D (solar tax credit). Total 25C tax credits across panel upgrades and all weatherization projects are capped at $1,200 per year. Heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are subject to a separate 25C cap of $2,000 per year. In the case where both 25C and 25D are applicable for a panel upgrade (i.e., if you’re upgrading your panel in conjunction with both a heat pump and rooftop solar), you cannot combine the two credits (Rewiring America).

State Tax Credits. For Solar Tax Credits, apply as soon as your project is complete to receive a certificate that you later file with your taxes because funds are capped every year.

Electric Vehicle tax credits are income -limited and complicated. By 2024, the tax credit will be transferred to the dealer and will operate as an effective rebate to the seller. For incentive information about Electric Vehicles we recommend following Plug-In America.

The Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act contains incentives for all most everyone to electrify: homeowners, renters, car buyers, contractors, non-profits, tribes, pueblos, and government entities. These slides from Rewiring America explain the scope of the act. For an easier way to see how the IRA will fund consumer electrification projects, check out Rewiring America’s Calculator and Guide.

Here is additional guidance from the Internal Revenue Service.

Tax incentives available to anyone who earns enough to owe taxes.

Upfront, point-of-sale rebates for LMI households available 2023/2024. Administered by the state. Thank Senator Heinrich for this program!

Whole-House Rebates (HOMES)

The IRA allocates funds to State Energy Offices to develop and implement several energy efficiency and electrification programs including High-Efficiency Electric Homes Rebates, State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants and HOMES. HOMES offers rebates for energy efficiency upgrades that improve the overall energy performance of a single-family home (SFH) or multi-family building (MFB). While the IRA does not specify what retrofits would satisfy its requirements, these might include efficient windows, doors, and insulation materials.

Applicants can demonstrate savings by comparing energy consumption before and after the retrofits, either through use of building energy models that estimate the energy performance of the whole house, or by measured performance. The energy savings requirements and the rebate calculation differ for the two methods. See Congressional Research Service IN FOCUS for more information.