In many cases, no! The IRA incentives are designed to increase access to clean technology. For households with lower incomes, 100% of appliance and installation costs are discounted at purchase, meaning you could install efficient electric appliances at no cost, with no spending.

Middle-income households do have to spend in order to access savings, but up to 50% of appliance and installation costs can be covered through upfront discounts, and you can use tax credits to cover some of the remaining gap.

Highest income households are not eligible for upfront discounts, so you will have to pay full price for appliances and installation — but tax credits on the back end could recoup around 30% of your costs.

es! The up-front electrification rebates and electrification tax credits can all be used by renters. Many of these upgrades (including window-unit heat pumps, electric stoves, and heat pump clothes dryers) are portable, so renters can bring them to their next homes and will not have to leave any savings behind. Renters are also eligible for the used and new EV tax credits. And although they are not exactly consumer-facing, renters will benefit from the IRA’s $1 billion investment in affordable housing energy upgrades and the new tax deduction for efficiency upgrades in commercial buildings (including apartment buildings).

Renters can also subscribe to community solar — which will be cheaper because of the IRA supply-side renewable energy incentives.

Probably! It’s up to your state, local government, and utility to decide if you’re allowed to stack their incentives on top of the IRA’s rebates and tax credits, but we think most of them will allow it.

You should include anyone that you claim as a dependent on your taxes. That could be children, grandparents, or other relatives who you support financially. You should also include your spouse or domestic partner if you file taxes together.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes over $61 billion for disadvantaged communities. Our calculator uses your income and zip code to figure out if you qualify.

Yes

The Whole Home Energy Reduction Rebates are designed to incentivize improvements in household energy efficiency. Like the HEEHRA rebates, implementation details will be determined by guidance from the Department of Energy and program proposals from State Energy Offices.

The IRA’s new 25D tax credit is a carryforward credit, meaning that you will be able to carry unused credit over to future years. The 25C tax credit is not a carryforward credit, so you will not be able to carry it forward.