Sample amounts, not tax advice
Six programmes, three very different kinds of money
Some come off the contract before you pay. Some arrive as a cheque months later. Some only exist if you owe income tax. Treating them as interchangeable is how budgets go wrong.
Rebate paperwork starts with the audit reportRead this part first
Which kind of money is it?
This distinction matters more than the headline percentage, and almost nobody explains it before a signature.
| Kind | How you get it | Examples | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point of sale | Comes off the contract price before you pay anything | Colorado sales tax exemption, the state heat pump credit in most cases | None. You never front the money. |
| Rebate | You or we file after the work, and a cheque or bill credit follows | Boulder County EnergySmart, utility efficiency rebates | Programme funds run out mid-year. Apply early. |
| Income tax credit | Reduces the federal or state tax you owe when you file | Federal residential clean energy credit, efficient home improvement credit | Only useful if you owe tax. Carryforward rules vary. Ask a professional. |
Currently reaching Boulder County
The six programmes, in detail
- 01
Federal residential clean energy credit
30 percent of eligible cost
Applies to: Solar, battery storage of 3 kWh or more, and certain associated electrical work
A credit against federal income tax, not a rebate. It reduces what you owe; it is not a cheque. Eligibility, percentage and expiry are set by federal law and change. Talk to a qualified tax professional.
- 02
Federal energy efficient home improvement credit
Up to $2,000 for a qualifying heat pump, up to $1,200 for envelope measures
Applies to: Cold-climate heat pumps, insulation, air sealing, and a credit toward the audit itself
Annual caps apply and reset each tax year, which is a genuine argument for splitting a large project across two years. Not tax advice.
- 03
Colorado sales and use tax exemption
State sales tax waived on qualifying components
Applies to: Renewable energy generation equipment and certain storage components
Applied at the point of sale by us, so it shows up as a lower line on your contract rather than as a claim you file.
- 04
Colorado heat pump tax credit
Sample figure: 10 percent of the installed cost of a qualifying system
Applies to: Air source and ground source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters
Administered through the installer at point of sale in most cases. Amounts step down over time. Sample figure only.
- 05
Boulder County EnergySmart
Sample figure: $400 to $2,400 depending on measure
Applies to: Audits, air sealing, insulation, heat pumps and heat pump water heaters
Requires a pre-work audit from a certified auditor. Ours qualifies, and we prepare the paperwork as part of the report.
- 06
Utility efficiency rebates
Sample figure: $150 to $1,500 depending on measure and utility
Applies to: Insulation, air sealing, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and smart thermostats
Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville and Superior sit in Xcel Energy territory; Longmont has its own municipal programme with different amounts and forms.
Said plainly
We are contractors, not tax advisers
Every amount on this page is a sample figure for a demonstration website. Eligibility rules, percentages, annual caps and expiry dates are set by federal, state and local bodies and they change, sometimes mid-year and sometimes retroactively.
Take the numbers on your proposal to a qualified tax professional before you plan a budget around them. Any contractor who tells you exactly what your credit will be worth is guessing about your tax position, which they know nothing about.
- 01Point-of-sale items appear as a line on your contract
- 02Rebate applications are prepared with your audit report
- 03Tax credit documentation is handed to your preparer, not interpreted by us
Money questions
Questions about incentives
Also useful: how people actually pay for this work.
No, and the difference costs people real money. A rebate is cash back. A credit reduces the tax you owe when you file, so it is worth nothing to a household with no federal tax liability, and it arrives months after you pay the contractor.
We prepare the rebate applications for the programmes that require a certified audit, and we apply the point-of-sale items directly to your contract. Income tax credits are between you and your tax preparer; we provide the documentation they will ask for.
Some will, some will not, and some step down on a published schedule. That is precisely why every figure on this page is marked as a sample and why we put the current numbers, dated, on your proposal rather than on a web page.
Sometimes usefully, yes. The federal efficient home improvement credit has annual caps that reset, so doing the envelope in one year and the heat pump in the next can capture more than doing both at once. Confirm it with a tax professional before planning around it.
Storage of 3 kWh or more currently qualifies for the federal residential clean energy credit, whether or not it is charged by solar. The rules around this have changed more than once, so check the current position.
The audit unlocks most of these
Most Boulder County and utility efficiency rebates require a pre-work audit from a certified auditor. Ours qualifies, and the paperwork starts with the report.