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Saratoga Springs, NY: Building Performance Institutes (BPI) is proud to announce that the Building Analyst Professional (BA-P) certification has been recognized by DOE as a credential that taxpayers can use to claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C).

It joins BPI’s Energy Auditor on the list of certification programs that have been reviewed by DOE and serve as a list of Qualified Certification Programs for home energy auditors that taxpayers can use to claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C) for home energy audits, per criteria specified in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2023-59.

The evaluation process for the Qualified Certification Programs is based on the industry input included in DOE’s Single-Family and Multi-Family Energy Auditor Job Task Analyses.

Home energy auditor certification programs and professional accreditations provide the baseline education, training, and professional upskilling to implement investments authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law) and Inflation Reduction Act.

BPI is the only organization with two credentials recognized by DOE as Qualified Certification Programs for home energy auditors. The Energy Auditor certification is often earned by workers who are associated with DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program, while the Building Analyst Professional is commonly earned by contractors who serve in the open market.

“We are thrilled about DOE’s recognition of the Building Analyst Professional,” says BPI National Technical Director John Jones. “There are over 6,000 BPI certified Building Analysts in this country. The inclusion of this certification is going to enable more Americans to claim this tax credit and get the home services needed to make their homes more resilient, efficient, and healthy.”

Sec. 25C(a), as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act, P.L. 117-169, allows a credit equal to 30% of the sum of amounts that taxpayers pay or incur during a tax year for qualified energy efficiency improvements, residential energy property expenditures, and home energy audits. (In prior years the credit was equal to 10% of the sum of qualifying expenses.) The amount of the credit for a home energy audit is capped at $150 per year, and a taxpayer must substantiate the home energy audit .

Energy audits performed by a BPI Building Analyst Professional or BPI Energy Auditor on or after January 1, 2023, may be used to claim the 25C tax credit for 2023. A directory of BPI Building Analyst Professional or BPI Energy Auditors is available at the Locator tool on BPI's website.

Starting in 2024, home energy auditors will be required to provide a business employer identification number (EIN), or other type of relevant taxpayer identifying number, as part of the written report they provide to the homeowner looking to claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C) for home energy audits. The IRS encourages home energy auditors to apply for and receive an EIN for their business if they do not already have one.

For more information regarding the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C), please visit the IRS web page on the 25C credit and see IRS Notice 2023-59.