The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was signed into law by President Biden on August 16th, 2022, however, it does not start taking effect until 2023 at the earliest. The law allows up to $8,000 in tax credits for eligible homeowners through the Homes Program of which $57 million is allocated for Oregon. Additionally, there is a maximum rebate of $14,000 per household through the HEER program of which $56 million is allocated to Oregon. Maximum upfront discounts are $4,000 for an electric panel, $1,750 for a heat pump water heater, and $8,000 for a heat pump or Air Conditioner.
A few main points to note, this is highly dependent on the area’s Adjusted Median Income. The current median household income in Oregon is $65,667 from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/OR/INC110220
For the full tax credit or rebate, the homeowner’s AMI must be 80% of the area which equates to around $52,533. If your household earns more than this you can be eligible for 50% of the costs if your AMI is between 80% and 150% of median area income, this equates to between $52,534 and $98,500. If you earn more than $98,500 adjusted income you more than likely will not qualify for any of the HOMES or HEER program rebates and tax credits. Currently, the state does not have firm guidelines as departments are being created at each state level to handle these programs. States have until December 31st, 2024 to create these and no state is expected to have a program or full guidelines ready until Q3 2023 at the earliest. For the HOMES program, there will also be a modeled energy savings requirement and mentions additional testing. For all AMI it also depends on which zip code you are in and how many people are in the household as well as tax filing status so your specific results and income levels for rebates and tax credits will vary once program guidelines are set.
If your adjusted median income is beyond $98,500 there are still 25C tax credits available for energy star rated HVAC equipment of up to $600 per item installed from ACs(Meeting or exceeding SEER2 16.0, EER2 12.0), to furnaces(97% or higher AFUE) and even electrical panel upgrades needed for these pieces of equipment. For heat pumps up to $2,000 in tax credits are available if the heat pump meets or exceeds SEER2 15.2, EER2 10.0 and HSPF2 8.1 if ducted or SEER2 16.0, EER2 9.0, HSPF2 9.5 if ducted.
This information is accurate to the best of our ability as of December 2nd, 2022, and programs and information is being released rapidly but not expected to be finalized until the end of 2023 for most states.
The website for additional information is rewiringamerica.org
