1.
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Cut Energy Bills at Home
Act
.
(b)Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in
this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or
repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to
be made to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
2.Performance
based home energy improvements
(a)Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 is
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
25E.Performance
based energy improvements
(a)In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a
credit against the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year for a
qualified whole home energy efficiency retrofit an amount determined under
subsection (b).
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraph (4), the amount determined under
this subsection is equal to—
(A)the base amount
under paragraph (2), increased by
(B)the amount
determined under paragraph (3).
(2)For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the base amount is
$2,000, but only if the energy use for the residence is reduced by at least 20
percent below the baseline energy use for such residence as calculated
according to paragraph (5).
(3)For purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the amount determined
under this paragraph is $500 for each additional 5 percentage point reduction
in energy use.
(4)In
no event shall the amount determined under this subsection exceed the lesser
of—
(A)$5,000 with
respect to any residence, or
(B)30 percent of the
qualified home energy efficiency expenditures paid or incurred by the taxpayer
under subsection (c) with respect to such residence.
(5)Determination
of energy use reductionFor purposes of this subsection—
(A)The reduction in energy use for any residence shall be
determined by modeling the annual predicted percentage reduction in total
energy costs for heating, cooling, hot water, and permanent lighting. It shall
be modeled using computer modeling software approved under subsection (d)(2)
and a baseline energy use calculated according to subsection (d)(1)(C).
(B)For purposes of subparagraph (A), the energy cost per unit
of fuel for each fuel type shall be determined by dividing the total actual
energy bill for the residence for that fuel type for the most recent available
12-month period by the total energy units of that fuel type used over the same
period.
(c)Qualified home
energy efficiency expendituresFor purposes of this section, the
term qualified home energy efficiency expenditures—
(1)means any amount
paid or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year for a qualified whole
home energy efficiency retrofit, including the cost of diagnostic procedures,
labor, and modeling,
(2)includes only
measures that have an average estimated life of 5 years or more as determined
by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy,
(3)does not include
any amount which is paid or incurred in connection with any expansion of the
building envelope of the residence, and
(4)does not include
improvements to swimming pools or hot tubs or any other expenditure
specifically excluded by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary
of Energy.
(d)Qualified whole
home energy efficiency retrofitFor purposes of this
section—
(1)The term qualified whole home energy efficiency
retrofit means the implementation of measures placed in service during
the taxable year intended to reduce the energy use of the principal residence
of the taxpayer which is located in the United States. A qualified whole home
energy efficiency retrofit shall—
(A)be designed,
implemented, and installed by a contractor which is—
(i)accredited by the
Building Performance Institute (hereafter in this section referred to as
BPI
) or a preexisting BPI accreditation-based State
certification program with enhancements to achieve State energy policy,
(ii)a Residential
Energy Services Network (hereafter in this section referred to as
RESNET
) accredited Energy Smart Home Performance Team, or
(iii)accredited by
an equivalent certification program approved by the Secretary, after
consultation with the Secretary of Energy, for this purpose,
(B)install a set of
measures modeled to achieve a reduction in energy use of at least 20 percent
below the baseline energy use established in subparagraph (C), using computer
modeling software approved under paragraph (2),
(C)establish the
baseline energy use by calibrating the model using sections 3 and 4 and Annex D
of BPI Standard BPI–2400–S–2011: Standardized Qualification of Whole House
Energy Savings Estimates, or an equivalent standard approved by the Secretary,
after consultation with Secretary of Energy, for this purpose,
(D)document the
measures implemented in the residence through photographs taken before and
after the retrofit, including photographs of its visible energy systems and
envelope as relevant, and
(E)implement a
test-out procedure, following guidelines of the applicable certification
program specified under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A), or equivalent
guidelines approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of
Energy, for this purpose, to ensure—
(i)the safe
operation of all systems post retrofit, and
(ii)that all
improvements are included in, and have been installed according to, standards
of the applicable certification program specified under clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (A), or equivalent standards approved by the Secretary, after
consultation with the Secretary of Energy, for this purpose.
For
purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), an organization or State may submit an
equivalent certification program for approval by the Secretary, in consultation
with the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary shall approve or deny such
submission not later than 180 days after receipt, and, if the Secretary fails
to respond in that time period, the submitted equivalent certification program
shall be considered approved.(2)Approved
modeling softwareFor purposes of paragraph (1)(B), the
contractor shall use modeling software certified by RESNET as following the
software verification test suites in section 4.2.1 of RESNET Publication No.
06–001 or certified by an alternative organization as following an equivalent
standard, as approved by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary
of Energy, for this purpose.
(3)The
Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall prescribe
regulations directing what specific documentation is required to be retained or
submitted by the taxpayer in order to claim the credit under this section,
which shall include, in addition to the photographs under paragraph (1)(D), a
form approved by the Secretary that is completed and signed by the qualified
whole home energy efficiency retrofit contractor under penalties of perjury.
Such form shall include—
(A)a statement that
the contractor followed the specified procedures for establishing baseline
energy use and estimating reduction in energy use,
(B)the name of the
software used for calculating the baseline energy use and reduction in energy
use, the percentage reduction in projected energy savings achieved, and a
statement that such software was certified for this program by the Secretary,
after consultation with the Secretary of Energy,
(C)a statement that
the contractor will retain the details of the calculations and underlying
energy bills for 5 years and will make such details available for inspection by
the Secretary or the Secretary of Energy, if so requested,
(D)a list of
measures installed and a statement that all measures included in the reduction
in energy use estimate are included in, and installed according to, standards
of the applicable certification program specified under clause (i) or (ii) of
subparagraph (A), or equivalent standards approved by the Secretary, after
consultation with the Secretary of Energy,
(E)a statement that
the contractor meets the requirements of paragraph (1)(A), and
(F)documentation of
the total cost of the project in order to comply with the limitation under
subsection (b)(4)(B).
(e)For purposes of this section—
(1)
(A)With respect to any residence, no credit shall be allowed
under this section for any taxable year in which the taxpayer claims a credit
under section 25C.
(B)Renewable
energy systems and appliancesIn the case of a renewable energy
system or appliance that qualifies for another credit under this chapter, the
resulting reduction in energy use shall not be taken into account in
determining the percentage energy use reductions under subsection (b).
(C)No double
benefit for certain expendituresThe term qualified home
energy efficiency expenditures shall not include any expenditure for
which a deduction or credit is claimed by the taxpayer under this chapter for
the taxable year or with respect to which the taxpayer receives any Federal
energy efficiency rebate.
(2)The term principal residence has the same
meaning as when used in section 121.
(3)Rules similar to the rules under paragraphs (4), (5), (6),
(7), and (8) of section 25D(e) and section 25C(e)(2) shall apply, as determined
by the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Energy.
(4)For purposes of this subtitle, if a credit is allowed
under this section with respect to any expenditure with respect to any
property, the increase in the basis of such property which would (but for this
paragraph) result from such expenditure shall be reduced by the amount of the
credit so allowed.
(5)Election not to
claim creditNo credit shall be determined under subsection (a)
for the taxable year if the taxpayer elects not to have subsection (a) apply to
such taxable year.
(6)If the taxpayer has claimed a credit under this section
in a previous taxable year, the baseline energy use for the calculation of
reduced energy use must be established after the previous retrofit has been
placed in service.
(f)This
section shall not apply with respect to any costs paid or incurred after
December 31, 2016.
(g)The Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of
Energy, shall establish a review process for the retrofits performed, including
an estimate of the usage of the credit and a statistically valid analysis of
the average actual energy use reductions, utilizing utility bill data collected
on a voluntary basis, and report to Congress not later than June 30, 2014, any
findings and recommendations for—
(1)improvements to
the effectiveness of the credit under this section, and
(2)expansion of the
credit under this section to rental
units.
.
(b)
(1)Section 1016(a)
is amended—
(A)by striking
and
at the end of paragraph (36),
(B)by striking the
period at the end of paragraph (37) and inserting , and
,
and
(C)by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
(38)to the extent
provided in section 25E(e)(4), in the case of amounts with respect to which a
credit has been allowed under section
25E.
.
(2)Section 6501(m)
is amended by inserting 25E(e)(5),
after
section
.
(3)The table of
sections for subpart A of part IV of subchapter A chapter 1 is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 25D the following new item:
Sec. 25E. Performance based
energy
improvements.
.
(c)The amendments made by this section shall apply to amounts
paid or incurred for a qualified whole home energy efficiency retrofit placed
in service after December 31, 2011.