Central Air Conditioners Tax Credit

Effective January 1, 2025, split system central air conditioners must meet SEER2 ≥ 17.0  and EER2 ≥12.0 to be eligible. Packaged central air conditioners must meet SEER2 ≥16.0 and EER2 ≥11.5 to be eligible.  

Note: Under the tax code, eligible equipment must “meet or exceed the highest efficiency tier (not including any advanced tier) established by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency which is in effect as of the beginning of the calendar year.”  The eligibility described above is consistent with this requirement.

In addition to limits on the amount of credit you can claim for any particular equipment installation or home improvement, there are annual aggregate limits.  The overall total limit for an efficiency tax credit in one year is $3,200.  This breaks down to a total limit of $1,200 for any combination of home envelope improvements (windows/doors/skylights, insulation, electrical) plus furnaces, boilers and central air conditioners.  Any combination of heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and biomass stoves/boilers are subject to an annual total limit of $2,000. (Note: ENERGY STAR certified geothermal heat pumps are eligible for a separate tax credit and not counted against these limits.)

For the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, the following requirements apply:

• exterior doors, windows and skylights, insulation materials or systems, and air sealing materials or systems: the home must be located in the United States and must be owned and used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence (does not include renters, nor does it include second homes);
• central air conditioners; natural gas, propane, or oil water heaters; natural gas, propane or oil furnaces or hot water boilers; electric or natural gas heat pumps; electric or natural gas heat pump water heaters; biomass stoves or biomass boilers; and improvements to panelboards, sub-panelboards, branch circuits, or feeders: the home must be located in the United States and used as a residence, including a second home, by the taxpayer (includes renters who make eligible improvements); and
• home energy audits: the home must be located in the United States and owned or used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence (does not include second home) and (includes renters who make eligible improvements).

The credits are available only for certain improvements made to second homes, and the credits are never available when the improvements are made to homes not used as a residence by the taxpayer. For example, landlords can never use these credits for improvements made to any homes they rent out but do not use as a residence themselves. However, if a taxpayer is renting a home as their principal residence and makes eligible improvements, a tax credit may be available to such tenant.

A principal residence is the home where you live most of the time. The home must be in the United States. It can include a house, houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment, condominium, and a manufactured home.

Given the way the annual aggregate limits are structured, it may be prudent to spread your improvements over a few years.   If your heating or cooling system is old, and you are considering a new air source heat pump, it is always wise to optimize your attic insulation first, so you don’t pay for more heating and cooling than you actually need.  Making these upgrades together in one year would allow you a tax credit of up to $1,200 for the insulation and up to $2,000 for the heat pump. Similarly, you could combine a heat pump installation with window/door replacements.  In that scenario, the $2,000 credit for the heat pump could be combined with tax credits up to $600 total for the windows/skylights plus $500 for two or more doors. If you replace your water heater the following year, you would be eligible for another 30% tax credit, up to $2,000 plus up to $600 if you need an electric panel upgrade to accommodate the new water heater.