30% Tax Credit Extended

There's great news for homeowners considering the installation of a skylight: A federal tax credit that was set to expire in 2016 has been extended. This 30 percent credit translates to an average of $850 in rebates.* Under the credit guidelines, VELUX Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylights as well as VELUX Solar Powered Blinds qualify under "Solar Electric Property" expenditures.

*average savings according to VELUX.

Opening Skylights

A 30 percent federal tax credit applies to both the purchase and installation of some products that fall under the designation of "renewable technologies," such as solar-electric power.

The VELUX solar-powered Fresh Air Skylights qualify for the tax credit. Thanks to the rebate, customers can upgrade to an opening skylight for nearly what they would have paid for a fixed, non-opening unit. Both the VELUX VSS deck-mount Solar Fresh Air Skylight and the curb-mount version (model VCS) meet the requirements for this credit. Solar-powered blinds for these units also qualify.

Solar Fresh Air Skylights

These solar units are easy to install and easy to use, as they require no wiring. The solar panel captures all available daylight to recharge its battery-powered operating system. Direct sunlight is not required. A rain sensor is included which will automatically close the unit if it remains open during inclement weather.

How Do I Get the Tax Credit?

The federal tax rebate is paid to the homeowner, so the homeowner will need to save receipts for both product costs and installation charges. Attach your receipts to a completed "Manufacturers Certification Statement" and file it for your records.

The homeowner is the one responsible for filling out and submitting tax forms to the IRS. When it's tax time, fill out IRS Tax form 5695 and submit it with your taxes. Enter this tax credit off of form 5695 on your 1040 form (tax forms can be found at irs.gov.) If you use an online program to file your taxes, it should ask if you made any energy-efficiency retrofits to your home in the tax year.

(Keep in mind that it's also a good idea to consult a tax professional, and neither Dunn Lumber nor VELUX assume liability regarding redemption of tax credits.)

Savings Estimates

The figures below show a price comparison between a fixed, non-opening VELUX skylight and a VELUX Solar Fresh Air opening skylight, which qualifies for the 30% tax credit.

Here's an example of costs based on a new skylight being installed:

A fixed, non-opening VELUX unit FS C06 plus the needed flashing is $391 list price. If we add in $1500* for installation that's $1,891.

Now let's look at a Solar Fresh Air opening skylight from VELUX instead. The list price of a VSS unit plus flashing is $1,305. Let's add the same $1,500 labor charge and we're at $2,805. That's $914 more than the non-opening skylight.

Now let's factor in the 30% Federal Rebate of $842, deduct that from $2,805 and we're at an after rebate cost of $1,963 or just $72 more—and some models of VELUX Solar Fresh Air can actually cost less than the manual skylights once the tax credit is figured into the costs.

You can play around with the numbers for your home: VELUX has a tax credit estimator on their website. If you have more questions about skylights or you're ready to get your order started, visit any Dunn Lumber location and chat with one of our windows and skylights experts.