Fillable Form 5695 - Residential Energy Credits

Form 5695 (2012)

Page

General Instructions

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit

(Part I)

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.

If you made energy saving improvements to more than one home

Future Developments

that you used as a residence during 2012, enter the total of those

costs on the applicable line(s) of one Form 5695. For qualified fuel

For the the latest information about developments related to

cell property, see Lines 7a and 7b, later.

Form 5695 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after

You may be able to take a credit of 30% of your costs of qualified

they were published, go to

solar electric property, solar water heating property, small wind

What's New

energy property, geothermal heat pump property, and fuel cell

property. Include any labor costs properly allocable to the onsite

The nonbusiness energy property credit has been extended through

preparation, assembly, or original installation of the residential

2013. You figure your nonbusiness energy property credit on Part II

energy efficient property and for piping or wiring to interconnect

of this form.

such property to the home. The credit amount for costs paid for

qualified fuel cell property is limited to $500 for each one-half

Purpose of Form

kilowatt of capacity of the property.

Use Form 5695 to figure and take your residential energy credits.

Qualified solar electric property costs. Qualified solar electric

The residential energy credits are:

property costs are costs for property that uses solar energy to

generate electricity for use in your home located in the United

• The residential energy efficient property credit, and

States. No costs relating to a solar panel or other property installed

• The nonbusiness energy property credit.

as a roof (or portion thereof) will fail to qualify solely because the

property constitutes a structural component of the structure on

Also use Form 5695 to take any residential energy efficient

which it is installed. The home does not have to be your main home.

property credit carryforward from 2011 or to carry the unused

portion of the credit to 2013.

Qualified solar water heating property costs. Qualified solar

water heating property costs are costs for property to heat water for

Who Can Take the Credits

use in your home located in the United States if at least half of the

energy used by the solar water heating property for such purpose is

You may be able to take the credits if you made energy saving

derived from the sun. No costs relating to a solar panel or other

improvements to your home located in the United States in 2012.

property installed as a roof (or portion thereof) will fail to qualify

Home. A home is where you lived in 2012 and can include a house,

solely because the property constitutes a structural component of

houseboat, mobile home, cooperative apartment, condominium,

the structure on which it is installed. To qualify for the credit, the

and a manufactured home that conforms to Federal Manufactured

property must be certified for performance by the nonprofit Solar

Home Construction and Safety Standards.

Rating Certification Corporation or a comparable entity endorsed by

the government of the state in which the property is installed. The

You must reduce the basis of your home by the amount of any

home does not have to be your main home.

credit allowed.

Main home. Your main home is generally the home where you

Qualified small wind energy property costs. Qualified small wind

energy property costs are costs for property that uses a wind

live most of the time. A temporary absence due to special

turbine to generate electricity for use in connection with your home

circumstances, such as illness, education, business, military

located in the United States. The home does not have to be your

service, or vacation, will not change your main home.

main home.

Costs. For purposes of both credits, costs are treated as being paid

Qualified geothermal heat pump property costs. Qualified

when the original installation of the item is completed, or in the case

geothermal heat pump property costs are costs for qualified

of costs connected with the reconstruction of your home, when

geothermal heat pump property installed on or in connection with

your original use of the reconstructed home begins. For purposes of

your home located in the United States. Qualified geothermal heat

the residential energy efficient property credit only, costs connected

pump property is any equipment that uses the ground or ground

with the construction of a home are treated as being paid when

water as a thermal energy source to heat your home or as a thermal

your original use of the constructed home begins. If less than 80%

energy sink to cool your home. To qualify for the credit, the

of the use of an item is for nonbusiness purposes, only that portion

geothermal heat pump property must meet the requirements of the

of the costs that is allocable to the nonbusiness use can be used to

Energy Star program that are in effect at the time of purchase. The

determine either credit.

home does not have to be your main home.

▲

Only the residential energy efficient property credit (Part

Qualified fuel cell property costs. Qualified fuel cell property costs

I) is available for both existing homes and homes being

are costs for qualified fuel cell property installed on or in connection

constructed. The nonbusiness energy property credit

with your main home located in the United States. Qualified fuel cell

CAUTION

(Part II) is only available for existing homes.

property is an integrated system comprised of a fuel cell stack

assembly and associated balance of plant components that

Association or cooperative costs. If you are a member of a

converts a fuel into electricity using electrochemical means. To

condominium management association for a condominium you own

qualify for the credit, the fuel cell property must have a nameplate

or a tenant-stockholder in a cooperative housing corporation, you

capacity of at least one-half kilowatt of electricity using an

are treated as having paid your proportionate share of any costs of

electrochemical process and an electricity-only generation

such association or corporation.

efficiency greater than 30%.

▲

If you received a subsidy from a public utility for the

Costs allocable to a swimming pool, hot tub, or any

▲

purchase or installation of an energy conservation

other energy storage medium which has a function

product and that subsidy was not included in your gross

other than the function of such storage do not qualify

CAUTION

income, you must reduce your cost for the

for the residential energy efficiency credit.

CAUTION

product by the amount of that subsidy before you compute your

Joint occupancy. If you occupied your home jointly with someone

credit. This rule also applies if a third party (such as a contractor)

other than your spouse, each occupant must complete his or her

receives the subsidy on your behalf.

own Form 5695. To figure the credit, the maximum qualifying costs

that can be taken into account by all occupants for qualified fuel cell

property costs is $1,667 for each one-half kilowatt of capacity of the

property. The amount allocable to you for qualified fuel cell property

costs is the lesser of:

Form 5695 - Residential Energy Credits - 2012 Page 3

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