Fuel Cells (Residential Fuel Cell and Microturbine System) Tax Credit

Information updated 12/30/2022

Subscribe to ENERGY STAR’s Newsletter for updates on tax credits for energy efficiency and other ways to save energy and money at home.

See tax credits for 2022 and previous years

The following Residential Clean Energy Tax Credit amounts apply for the prescribed periods:

  • 30% for property placed in service after December 31, 2016, and before January 1, 2020
  • 26% for property placed in service after December 31, 2019, and before January 1, 2022
  • 30% for property placed in service after December 31, 2021, and before January 1, 2033
  • 26% for property placed in service after December 31, 2032, and before January 1, 2034
  • 22% for property placed in service after December 31, 2033, and before January 1, 2035

What products are eligible?

Fuel cells are important enabling technology for the hydrogen economy and have the potential to revolutionize the way we power our nation, offering cleaner, more-efficient alternatives to the combustion of gasoline and other fossil fuels.

Requirements

Tax Credit includes installation costs.

The maximum credit is $500 per half kilowatt (kW) of power capacity.

The fuel cell  must have a nameplate capacity of at least 0.5 kW of electricity using an electrochemical process and an electricity-only generation efficiency greater than 30%.

The home served by the system MUST be the taxpayer's principal residence.

In case of joint occupancy, the maximum qualifying costs that can be taken into account by all occupants for figuring the credit is $1,667 per 0.5 kW. This does not apply to married individuals filing a joint return. The credit that may be claimed by each individual is proportional to the costs he/she paid.

ask the experts

Your go-to resource for the latest
advice from ENERGY STAR
experts on saving energy at
home and work.

Home Upgrade Tool Logo

ENERGY STAR Home Upgrade

Who can use this credit?

The home served by the system MUST be the taxpayer's principal residence.

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.

In case of joint occupancy, the maximum qualifying costs that can be taken into account by all occupants for figuring the credit is $1,667 per 0.5 kW. This does not apply to married individuals filing a joint return. The credit that may be claimed by each individual is proportional to the costs he/she paid.