26 U.S.C. § 45L — New energy efficient home credit

(a) Allowance of credit (1) In general: For the general business credit, an "eligible contractor" gets the "new energy efficient home credit" for each "qualified new energy efficient home" it built that someone else bought from it to live in during the tax year. (2) Applicable amount: How much the credit is worth depends on the type of home: (A) For a single-family or manufactured home eligible for the Energy Star Residential New Construction Program or Energy Star Manufactured New Homes program: $2,500 if it meets the basic energy-saving rule in (c)(1)(A) but not the stricter zero-energy-ready rule in (c)(1)(B); $5,000 if it meets the zero-energy-ready rule. (B) For a unit in a building eligible for the Energy Star Multifamily New Construction Program: $500 for meeting the basic rule, $1,000 for meeting the zero-energy-ready rule. (b) Definitions (1) "Eligible contractor" means whoever built the home — or, for a manufactured home, the company that manufactured it. (2) "Qualified new energy efficient home" means a home that's in the United States, whose construction finished after this section became law, and that meets the energy-saving rules in subsection (c). (3) "Construction" also covers substantial rebuilding and rehabilitation, not just new building. (4) "Acquire" includes buying. (c) Energy saving requirements (1) In general: (A) A home meets this subparagraph if it meets either the single-family rule in (2) or the multi-family rule in (3), whichever applies to it. (B) A home also meets this subparagraph — the stricter, higher-dollar tier — if it's certified under the Department of Energy's "zero energy ready home" program, as that program stood on January 1, 2023 (or a later program the Secretary names as its successor). (2) Single-family home requirements: A home meets this rule if it satisfies both (A)(i) the Energy Star Single-Family New Homes National Program Requirements — version 3.1 if bought before January 1, 2025, or version 3.2 if bought after December 31, 2024 — and (ii) the most recent Energy Star Single-Family New Homes requirements specific to where the home is, as of the later of January 1, 2023 or two years before the home was bought; or (B) the most recent Energy Star Manufactured Home requirements as of that same "later of" date. (3) Multi-family home requirements: A home meets this rule if it satisfies both (A) the most recent national Energy Star Multifamily New Construction requirements, and (B) the most recent regional requirements for its location — each measured as of the later of January 1, 2023 or three years before the home was bought. (d) Certification (1) The Secretary, after talking with the Secretary of Energy, sets the method for certifying that a home meets subsection (c), including how to calculate energy and cost savings. (2) The certification must be in writing and must clearly list the efficient building parts and heating or cooling equipment installed, along with their rated efficiency. (e) Basis adjustment If this credit is claimed for money spent on a home, the home's cost basis — which would normally go up by that spending — goes up by less: reduced by the amount of the credit. This rule does not change how a building's basis is figured under section 42 (the low-income housing credit). (f) Coordination with investment credit Money already counted toward the investment credit under section 47 or 48(a) can't also be counted toward this credit. (g) Prevailing wage requirement (1) For a multifamily home under (a)(2)(B) that meets the prevailing-wage rule in (2)(A), the credit is bumped up to the higher amount: $2,500 for meeting the basic rule, $5,000 for meeting the zero-energy-ready rule. (2) (A) That prevailing-wage rule means the taxpayer must make sure every laborer and mechanic — whether hired directly or through a contractor or subcontractor — who builds the home is paid at least the local prevailing wage rate, as the Secretary of Labor most recently set it under the Davis-Bacon rules (subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, U.S. Code). (B) If wages fall short, correction and penalty rules like the ones in section 45(b)(7)(B) apply. (3) The Secretary can issue regulations or guidance for this subsection, including recordkeeping and reporting rules. (h) Termination This credit does not apply to any qualified home bought after June 30, 2026.