As part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s modifications to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 179D, inflation adjustments are applied annually to the annual taxpayer deduction. The tax year 2024 adjustments were established on November 9, 2023. This is welcome news for designers of tax-exempt buildings (architects, engineers, and contractors) and commercial building owners constructing new buildings or making improvements to their existing buildings.
IRC Section 179D Inflation Adjustments
To assist in planning for tax years 2023 and 2024, the Section 179D inflation adjustment amounts are listed below from Revenue Procedures 2022-38 and 2023-34. The deduction per square foot ranges in the chart provide the limits of available Section 179D incentive, which correspond to 25% energy savings on the low end and 50% energy savings on the high end. Whether the prevailing wage and apprenticeship (PWA) requirements are met or if the taxpayer is exempt will also have an impact on savings.
Taxpayers would be exempt from PWA requirements if construction began before January 29, 2023.
Taxpayers can benefit from these adjustments since the available Section 179D benefit is 7% higher in tax year 2023 than the nominal Inflation Reduction Act values. This will further reward energy efficiency efforts and make pursuing a Section 179D study feasible for more projects. Many projects placed in service during 2023 and 2024 will also receive these inflation adjustment boosts without the need to comply with the PWA requirements due to this construction exemption.
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For more information on Section 179D and other updates to this incentive related to the Inflation Reduction Act, please contact your Moss Adams professional.
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