Form 8908 Energy Efficient New Home Credit

Form

8908

OMB No. 1545-1979

Energy Efficient Home Credit
©

2008

Attach to your tax return.

Attachment
Sequence No.

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

Name(s) as shown on return

1a Enter the total number of qualified energy efficient homes meeting the
50% standard that were sold or leased to another person for use as
1a
a residence during the tax year (see instructions)
b Multiply line 1a by $2,000
2a Enter the total number of qualified energy efficient manufactured
homes meeting the 30% standard that were sold or leased to another
2a
person for use as a residence during the tax year (see instructions)
b Multiply line 2a by $1,000
3 Energy efficient home credit from partnerships and S corporations
4 Add lines 1b, 2b, and 3. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K; all
others, report this amount on Form 3800, line 1p

General Instructions

Definitions

Section references are to the Internal
Revenue Code unless otherwise noted.

Eligible Contractor

What’s New
● The energy efficient home credit was
extended to cover homes substantially
completed during 2009.
● Notices 2008-35 and 2008-36 were
issued to clarify the definition of “eligible
contractor” and provide additional
guidance on the certification process.
However, you can continue to rely on
Notices 2006-27 and 2006-28 for
certifications provided before March 1,
2008.

Purpose of Form
Eligible contractors use Form 8908 to
claim a credit for each qualified energy
efficient home sold or leased to another
person during the tax year for use as a
residence. The credit ($2,000 or $1,000)
is based on the energy saving
requirements of the home. The credit is
part of the general business credit.
Taxpayers other than partnerships or
S corporations, whose only source of
this credit is from a pass-through entity,
are not required to complete or file this
form. Instead, they can report this credit
directly on line 1p of Form 3800.
See section 45L for more information.

Who May Claim the Credit
Eligible contractors may claim the credit
for new energy efficient homes that are
substantially completed after August 8,
2005, and acquired by sale or lease by
an individual from that contractor during
the tax year for use as a residence.

153

Identifying number

An eligible contractor is the person that
constructed a qualified energy efficient
home (or produced a qualified energy
efficient home that is a manufactured
home). A person must own and have a
basis in the qualified energy efficient
home during its construction to qualify
as an eligible contractor with respect to
the home. For example, if the person
that hires a third party contractor to
construct the home owns and has the
basis in the home during construction,
the person that hires the third party
contractor is the eligible contractor and
the third party contractor is not an
eligible contractor.

Qualified New Energy
Efficient Home
A qualified new energy efficient home is
a dwelling unit located in the United
States, whose construction is
substantially completed after August 8,
2005, and sold or leased to another
person after 2005 but before 2010, for
use as a residence. The home is also
required to be certified and meet certain
energy saving requirements.
Construction includes substantial
reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Energy Saving Requirements
The amount of the credit is based on the
extent to which each new energy
efficient home meets the energy saving
requirements discussed below.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 2.

Cat. No. 37718T

1b

2b
3
4

50% energy efficient standard. The
credit is $2,000 for a dwelling unit that is
certified to have an annual level of
heating and cooling energy consumption
at least 50% below the annual level of
heating and cooling energy consumption
of a comparable dwelling unit and has
building envelope component
improvements that account for at least
1/5 of the 50% reduction in energy
consumption. A manufactured home
meeting the requirements described
above and the Federal Manufactured
Home Construction and Safety
Standards (FMHCSS) requirements (see
24 C.F.R. part 3280) is also eligible for
the $2,000 credit.
Comparable dwelling unit. A
comparable dwelling unit:
● Is constructed in accordance with the
standards of chapter 4 of the 2004
Supplement to the 2003 International
Energy Conservation Code,
● Has air conditioners with a Seasonal
Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 13,
measured in accordance with 10 C.F.R.
430.23(m), and
● Has heat pumps with a SEER of 13
and a Heating Seasonal Performance
Factor (HSPF) of 7.7, measured in
accordance with 10 C.F.R. 430.23(m).
30% energy efficient standard. The
credit is $1,000 for a manufactured
home that does not meet the 50%
energy saving requirement but is
certified to have an annual level of
heating and cooling energy consumption
at least 30% below the annual level of
heating and cooling energy consumption
of a comparable dwelling unit (discussed
above) and:

Form

8908

(2008)

Form 8908 (2008)

● Meets FMHCSS requirements, and
● Has building envelope component
improvements that account for at least
1/3 of the 30% reduction in energy
consumption, or
● Meets the current requirements
established by the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency under
the Energy Star Labeled Homes
program.
Heating and cooling energy and cost
savings must be calculated using the
procedures described in either
Residential Energy Services Network
(RESNET) Publication 05-001, RESNET
Publication 06-001, or an equivalent
calculation procedure. You may access
RESNET publications at
http://www.resnet.us/standards/
taxcredits/procedures.pdf.

Certification
An eligible contractor must obtain a
certification that the dwelling unit meets
the requirements of section 45L(c)(1)
from an eligible certifier before claiming
the section 45L credit. The certification
will be treated as satisfying the
requirements of section 45L(c)(1) if all
the construction has been performed in
a manner consistent with the design
specifications provided to the eligible
certifier and the certification contains all
of the information required by section 3
of Notice 2008-35, or, for manufactured
homes, section 3 or section 4 of Notice
2008-36.

Page

Specific Instructions
Note. If you only have a credit allocated
to you from a partnership or
S corporation, skip lines 1 and 2, and go
to line 3.

Line 1
For each home substantially completed
after August 8, 2005, and sold or leased
during the tax year that meets the 50%
energy efficient standard, the allowable
credit is $2,000.
Reduce the expenses incurred in the
construction of each new home by the
amount of the credit. Expenses taken
into account for either the rehabilitation
or energy components of the investment
tax credit may not again be considered
in determining the energy efficient home
credit. See section 45L(f).

Line 2
For each manufactured home
substantially completed after August 8,
2005, and sold or leased during the tax
year that meets the 30% energy efficient
standard, the allowable credit is $1,000.
Reduce the expenses incurred in the
construction of each new home by the
amount of the credit. Expenses taken
into account for either the rehabilitation
or energy components of the investment
tax credit may not again be considered
in determining the energy efficient home
credit. See section 45L(f).

Line 3
Enter the amount of credit allocated to
you as a shareholder or partner.

2

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We
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the United States. You are required to
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by section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file
this form will vary depending on
individual circumstances. The estimated
burden for individual taxpayers filing this
form is approved under OMB control
number 1545-0074 and is included in
the estimates shown in the instructions
for their individual income tax return. The
estimated burden for all other taxpayers
who file this form is shown below.
Recordkeeping
2 hr., 9 min.
Learning about the
law or the form
12 min.
Preparing and sending
the form to the IRS
14 min.
If you have comments concerning the
accuracy of these time estimates or
suggestions for making this form
simpler, we would be happy to hear
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return with which this form is filed.