There are times when waiting til the last minute pays off, like finding last-minute, rock-bottom-prices sales on Christmas Eve. However, waiting to replace your furnace til 2017’s end-of-year cold months may not pay off for you. There may not be room on any certified contractor’s installation schedule, and you’ll miss your opportunity to realize the offered tax credits with Oregon’s Residential Energy Tax Credits (RETC) program. Here in Oregon people will be clambering for the remaining available appointments with companies to install new energy-efficient equipment. According to the Oregon Department of Energy (DOE), “The RETC program is scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2017.”
What Is the RETC?
If you’re not familiar with Oregon’s tax-credit program, Oregon’s RETC program stands for Residential Energy Tax Credits, as mentioned above. The program is a financial incentive for a personal state-tax credit for Oregon-resident homeowners and renters. The program started for Oregon residents on January 1, 2006, and is scheduled to expire at the end of 2017’s tax year, December 31, 2017.
If you, as a residential homeowner or renter, purchase eligible energy-efficient equipment, you can claim the tax credit on your taxes. Naturally, there are eligibility factors, such as type of equipment, contractor certification, and applicable codes/standards, to be considered, but once those requirements are met, you could receive a $300 to $6,000 credit on your Oregon income taxes. This is a win-win situation. You save money in two ways by installing the energy-efficient equipment––you receive the tax credit and you realize substantial energy savings with the upgrades, saving you yet more money.
What and Who Are Eligible to Qualify?
The State of Oregon is offering these tax credits for qualifying equipment. For efficiency technologies, here are some types on their qualify list: furnaces, water heaters, heat pumps, heat recovery, duct/air sealing, tankless water heaters. For renewal and other technologies, these are some on this qualify list: passive solar, solar water heat, solar space heat, solar photovoltaics, all wind, biomass, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cells using nonrenewable fuels, solar pool heating, fuel cells using renewable fuels.
To qualify for the RETC program, you may be eligible if you:
- Purchase(d) your equipment for your Oregon-based primary residence, secondary (vacation) home, or residential rental property
- Purchase(d) your equipment prior to the program expiration, December 31, 2017, and install it by April 1, 2018
- Can prove your new equipment was eligible at the time of purchase
- Have proof you’re the owner of the new equipment
Eligibility Details
For more information visit oregon.gov and/or call to speak with one of our Robben & Sons Heating, Inc. qualified professionals.
What Do I Need to Do to Apply?
To apply for your tax credit, simply fill out the application that corresponds to your qualifying equipment after it’s been purchased and installed. Then submit the application with your receipt or proof of purchase to the Oregon DOE. You can find an application at the Oregon DOE’s website, where all the qualified equipment and devices are listed. Go to your equipment’s page for your specific application. You will receive from Robben & Sons Heating, Inc. the corresponding application materials when you purchase your equipment from us and we install it. The Oregon DOE will send you a tax-credit certificate if your equipment meets their qualifications, so don’t procrastinate in your submission. It is a first-come-first-served situation.
Take advantage of Oregon’s RETC program now, before it’s too late. With its expiration at the end of 2017, there isn’t time to dally. Call us at 503-233-5841 or 503-238-HEAT today to schedule an appointment to upgrade your equipment or to speak more in depth with one of our professional technicians about what can save you money––both with the RETC program and long-term energy savings.
