Thursday, January 28, 2010

2009 IRS Form 5695 Released, Causing Confusion

The IRS has released the 2009 version of Form 5695 which homeowners must use to claim the tax credit for residential energy efficiency improvements such as HVAC upgrades. The form appears to be factually correct, but extremely confusing while it tries to address the qualifying level for air source heat pumps which changed on February 17, 2009 when ARRA was enacted. HARDI and other industry organizations worked with the EPA's Energy Star staff to issue this clarification which reinforces that air source heat pumps needed an HSPF of 8.5, not 9.0 if installed after February 17, 2009.