Furnace, AC, and Water Heater Tax Credits Are Back for Your 2012 Tax Return!

Here’s some good news about your 2012 taxes. If you installed a new furnace, air conditioner, or water heater in your Omaha home last year, you could be eligible for a tax credit. Tax credits for high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment are back! President Obama signed legislation in early January that retroactively reinstated the 25C tax credits for high-efficiency furnaces, air conditioners, and water heaters. How much can you recoup? Depending on what you installed, you could get a credit of up to $500 total. See the list below to add up what you may be eligible for:


Furnaces = $150 Tax Credit

  • Natural gas, propane, or oil furnace – must have an AFUE of no less than 95

Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps= $300 Tax Credit

  • Packaged central air conditioner – must be at least 14 SEER and 12 EER
  • Split system central air conditioner – must be at least 16 SEER and 13 EER
  • Packaged electric heat pump – must be 8 HSPF and 12 EER and 14 SEER
  • Split system electric heat pump – must be 8.5 HSPF and 12.5 EER and 15 SEER

Water Heaters = $300 Tax Credit

  • Natural gas, propane, or oil water heater – must have an energy factor of at least 0.82 or a thermal efficiency of at least 90 percent
  • Electric heat pump water heaters – must have an energy factor of at least 2.0

Boilers = $150 Tax Credit

  • Natural gas, propane, or oil boiler – must have an AFUE of no less than 95

Advanced Main Air Circulating Fan = $50 Tax Credit

  • A fan used in a natural gas, propane, or oil furnace must have an annual electricity use of no more than 2 percent of the total energy use of the furnace

So if you thought you had bad timing missing the tax credits that ended in December of 2011, and ending up installing a high-efficiency unit in 2012, you can still get those credits! In fact, to encourage the installation of these higher-efficiency units, the government is extending the tax credits to installations that occur in 2013 as well. If you installed qualifying equipment inyour Omaha home, make sure your tax advisor gets these credits on your tax return. If you purchased your water heater, AC, or furnace through Getzschman Heating, and you’re not sure if it qualifies, give us a call at 800-657-2158, and we can let you know if it does. Happy 2013!