Search: Commercial Building Tax

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D of the tax code) provides an accelerated tax deduction of up to $1.80/sq.ft. as an incentive to install energy-efficient building systems, including interior lighting. The tax deduction expired and renewed several times over the years, most recently with the passage [...]

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“PATH” or “Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 18, 2015, featured a number of tax provisions, including an extension of the Commercial Energy-Efficient Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D) by two years from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2016. The text [...]

On December 19, President Obama signed the Tax Increase Prevention Act, which contains extenders of 50+ tax relief provisions. Of particular interest in the lighting industry is a one-year extension of 179D, the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction. This is an accelerated tax deduction rewarding investment in energy-efficient building property, notably interior lighting systems. The law [...]

The Senate Finance Committee recently voted to approve a two-year extension of the Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction, also known as Section 179D, as part of the Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act. The provision allows a taxpayer to take a deduction equal to commercial building energy-efficiency expenditures made by the taxpayer [...]

The Obama Administration is authorized to play a more active and supportive role in encouraging and progressing the energy efficiency and sustainability of America’s multifamily and commercial building stock, according to a report released by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and other leading organizations in energy, housing, environment and real estate. The legal analysis, [...]

Below is my column for the Jan/Feb issue of Illuminate, for your consideration. Note that Jan/Feb is my last issue as editor at large. From here on out, I will not be leading the magazine as its editor but instead contributing it to as a staff writer. This was on my request … Death and [...]

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of working with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association on a revision of their website detailing features, benefits and rules of implementation for the Commercial Buildings Deduction. Congress recently extended the expiration date for this important energy efficiency incentive to January 1, 2014. Check out the new and improved [...]

Several weeks ago, I conducted a short survey of lighting practitioners to see how they are using the Commercial Buildings Deduction. I got a very small response on the new construction side of the industry and a high response on the retrofit side. As the former lacked a statistically valid sample on which to make [...]

On August 3, an email blast was distributed to the approx. 11,500 subscribers of LightNOW inviting them to take a spot survey in which they would be asked to report data about their awareness and use of the tax incentives related to lighting. After the mailing, 356 subscribers responded. Respondents were first qualified to those [...]