Green Tax Incentives Around the World

Learn Law


wind turbines

I am a licensed attorney, but this post is for education only.

Tax time isn’t here yet (at least in the U.S.), but it’s always good to think about ways to lower your tax bill. And what could be better than helping the environment?! So let’s look at green tax incentives around the globe.

United States

Home energy efficiency – Homeowners are eligible for a residential energy efficiency tax credit if you install high-efficiency heating, cooling, and water-heating equipment. This is a credit, which means it directly reduces your taxes due. But you better act fast; it only applies to improvements made through December 31, 2007.

Solar and fuel cells – Federal legislation allows a 30% tax credit for residential solar electric and solar water heating equipment. You can take the credit up to $2,000 for a photovoltaics system and another $2,000 limit for solar water heating. And you can get the same 30% credit for fuel cells, up to $500 per 0.5 kilowatt.

Energy conservation subsidies – If a public utility offers you a subsidy to install energy conservation equipment, the IRS doesn’t consider that taxable income. This may not seem like much, but generally any benefit you receive is considered taxable income. Uncle Sam is giving you a break here.

Renewable energy production – Business owners can take advantage of this tax credit. You can get a per kilowatt-hour tax credit for energy your business produces using qualified technology. Energy types include: wind, biomass, geothermal, small irrigation power, and landfill gas.

Alternative fuel vehicles – Everyone’s eligible for these! Just purchase a car other than the standard gasoline option, and you’ll have a tax credit at your disposal. The easiest way to find out specifically what’s available is to consult the Alternative Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center. One example: buy a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid, and you’ll get $3,000 knocked off your tax bill.

Your locality has MORE – The above incentives are all applicable across the U.S. To find green tax incentives in your area, use this tool by the Sierra Club. Look under “Energy / Recycling” for “Energy incentives.”

United Kingdom

Zero carbon homes – If your house has “zero net emissions of carbon dioxide from all energy use in the home,” you are exempt from stamp duty (up to £500,000 property value). This exemption is available until 2012. But remember that your emissions include all energy use in your home.

Energy-saving materials – Purchases of energy-saving materials for homes or charities get a reduced-rate VAT. The reduced rate applies to a variety of items, such as central heat & water heating, draught stripping, insulation, solar panels, and heat pumps.

Canada

Car rebate – Canadians don’t have to wait and claim a tax credit, like Americans. Just fill out the ecoAUTO application, and you’ll get a rebate from $1,000 to $2,000. This offer applies to fuel efficient vehicle purchases and long-term leases.

House retrofit grant – If you need to make your house energy-efficient, you can get a grant from the government to help! Check out the ecoENERGY retrofit site to see if your project qualifies for a grant up to $5,000.

Australia

Solar panel rebates – Homes, schools, and community buildings can get a rebate on photovoltaic systems. You have to get pre-approval, the equipment must be new, and the property must be on (or near) the grid.

Insulation help – Victoria residents can get a rebate of 30% off insulation. You’ll have to meet several requirements, so follow the instructions carefully. And check out the other rebates and grants you can get!

India

Wind energy – According to a government report, India ranks first among developing nations for wind energy capacity. It’s no coincidence that India offers excise duty and sales tax exemptions for wind turbines. India also waives import duties on some wind turbine components.

What about your country?

I did my best to cover several countries around the world. But if I didn’t cover yours, let me know. I’ll try to add some info about your country to this post! And I’ll do my best to include it in future survey posts.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Get more legal tips

Sign-up below to get email tips and exclusive discounts on videos, webinars, and future items. All fields are required.




See also...
October 25, 2007 by Andrew Flusche

Comments

13 Responses to “Green Tax Incentives Around the World”

  1. windyridge
    November 2nd, 2007

    Thanks for putting the tax breaks all in one spot as we are definitely thinking about going solar and/or buying a hybrid car.

  2. Modern Living Room Furniture
    November 20th, 2007

    Too few bloggers are taking about renewable and/or non-polluting sources of energy. So thanks for that post which i think will heighten and spread awareness. This is a subject that i feel strongly about. I think that the developed countries aren’t doing enough to limit their emissions and the developing nations point fingers at the developed nations rather than go about setting their own house in order.

  3. Franklin
    November 26th, 2007

    The 30% federal solar tax credit is valid only until 31st December 2008, unless Congress decides to extend it ( it’s already been extended once from Dec31st 2007 for one more year). If it’s not extended, thecredits revert back to the default 10%.

  4. Welcome Yahoo! Finance Readers « Legal Andrew
    November 29th, 2007

    [...] Green Tax Incentives Around the World [...]

  5. Mike Montaney
    December 15th, 2007

    Sometimes I think that China is even ahead of us in trying to get the word out about rebates and incentives for saving energy..!! I found a few web sites that offer incentives and rebates. If you go to them and type in your state and city it brings up a lot of very useful info.. I typed in my utility company and found out what they offer as far as home improvements. I typed GreenTaxIncentives (with a dot com of course) right into my web browsers address bar and found another useful site for getting rebates and saving our planet. It’s easy to do your part with a little effort.

    Mike

  6. Oil Drilling Made Katrina Worse
    January 25th, 2008

    This is a great resource. People can’t take advantage of renewable energy credits unless they know about them – and if we don’t get rid of our dependence on oil we’ll suffer all kinds of consequences. Thanks!

  7. Mike Montaney
    January 26th, 2008

    No problem, I’m glad to help the cause of cleaning up after ourselves, not only for us, but for the future generations sake. After I found that last one, I started doing searches and I came up with more..

    There’s another bunch called:

    GreenBuildingIncentives,
    GreenDetermined,
    GreenDependent,
    GreenVisional,
    GreenAnnie and even a GreenPsycho, lol (all with a dot com of course)..

    Let’s all go out, do our small part and clean this place we call EARTH up..!!! With a little searching around like I did, we can even profit from the savings..!!

    Mike M

  8. Mike Montaney
    April 29th, 2008

    It’s been a long time (Or so it seems) since I’ve dropped in. I’d like to get some comments and discussion going on what everyone and anyone for that matter has done in the last few months to try and make our planet a little bit cleaner.. Anything, even the smallest change in your daily habits can add a great impact in the long run… Please share and tell us.. As far as myself I got involved with my twin nephews and the Boy Scouts and we are now doing a drive to ask schools and local churches & Synagogues to ask their congregations to donate their old computers and cell phones, ipods, etc. or any other electronics so that we can bring them to the local recycler and earn some money for a camping trip this summer, while cleaning up the land fills with those electronics. They will now be recycled, sorted and reused for new products.

  9. Mike Montaney
    December 26th, 2008

    I have commented before on this issue, I would like to repeat it for 2009..!!

    Sometimes I think that China is even ahead of us in trying to get the word out about rebates and incentives for saving energy..!! I found a few web sites that offer incentives and rebates. If you go to them and type in your state and city it brings up a lot of very useful info.. I typed in my utility company and found out what they offer as far as home improvements. I typed GreenTaxIncentives (with a dot com of course) right into my web browsers address bar and found another useful site for getting rebates and saving our planet. It’s easy to do your part with a little effort.

    Mike

    PS: Here’s a few more sites that I have found via digging the net, that I have found helpful to the cause..

    GreenBuildingIncentives,
    GreenDetermined,
    GreenDependent,
    GreenVisional,
    GreenAnnie and even a GreenPsycho, lol (all with a dot com of course)..

  10. Mike Montaney
    December 26th, 2008

    *Side Note: I have found that the GreenAnnie & GreenPsycho websites are down.. That’s sad, because they had a wealth of info.. This is why I always click the “Sponsor Links” on these sites. They depend on that to keep up with their costs of hosting the site for us.. So if you do visit the others that are still up, click the “Ads by Google” which is their only source of income to keep operating and publishing this info for us..!!

  11. Francis
    June 1st, 2009

    You should update this list. Many of the caps in the US have been raised or eliminated. Solar, Wind and Geothermal for example currently are 30% with no cap.

  12. Aditya
    June 14th, 2009

    “India Wind energy – According to a government report, India ranks first among developing nations for wind energy capacity. It’s no coincidence that India offers excise duty and sales tax exemptions for wind turbines. India also waives import duties on some wind turbine components.”

    Guys It’s a fact I am from that area. There are lots of project going on specially in north west part of india where they got desert. There are huge wind turbines which generate a lot of energy. But almost all western country never talk about this very good step by Indian govt. Still they blame India for global warming.

    I think if you even check recycling records india will come on top. In India you get money for selling your recyclable goods.

    There are solar power projects are also going on. which are developing really quickly.

  13. Karen@solar wind power
    September 4th, 2009

    The tax credits for most alternative energy installations are good until 12/2016.

    Here is the link: http://www.energystar.gov/inde.....s.tx_index

Comments are automatically closed on older posts.