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,

HVAC REBATE UPDATE – Message from A. Cam Fentriss, FRACCA Lobbyist

The Florida Legislature held a special session on Tuesday November 16, 2010 and has agreed to

the following resolution for funding the HVAC Rebate Program.

Consumers who purchased or contracted for purchase a qualifying HVAC or geothermal unit

through a Florida-licensed contractor between August 29 and September 14, 2010 will be eligible

for the $1,500 HVAC Rebate. Consumers must have the completed rebate application, including

all required documentation, at the rebate processing center by November 30, 2010.

A copy of the HVAC Rebate application has been attached to this Alert for your convenience.

All qualifying HVAC rebates will be paid first from the available funding. It is anticipated that the

HVAC rebates will total approximately $2.47 million. The remaining funds (approximately $28

million) will then be disbursed on a percentage basis to each unpaid and approved solar rebate.

For more information, please view the official State website at

www.rebates.com/floridahvac

Reactivation of HVAC Rebate

On Tuesday November 16, 2010, the Florida Legislature passed House Bill 15A approving funding for all qualified applications for the Florida Energy Star Residential HVAC Rebate program with constraints. To qualify:

  • The HVAC or geothermal system must have been purchased or contracted for purchase with a Florida-licensed contractor between August 30, 2010, and September 14, 2010.
  • The new HVAC or geothermal system must be fully installed before November 30, 2010.
  • A complete application (with four required documents included) must be submitted to our rebate administrator on or before November 30, 2010.