Going green has two primary benefits: it reduces your carbon footprint, and you can receive tax breaks from the federal government. In fact, the Energy Star label was created specifically for this reason and, as a business, you can employ preexisting products with this label and then claim it on your tax return.
Use the Charitable Contribution Tax Benefit
Specifically, this is called making donations for dollars; as a business, you can donate deprecated equipment, clothing, and many other things to nonprofits and other companies. The benefit is tiered – which means that if you donate more than $500 worth of stuff, then Tax Form 8283 can be of benefit to you. Always get a receipt if you donate more than $500; for less than this, you don’t need to formally document it.
Renewable Energy Incentives
There exist a number of these that can be of benefit to businesses of all sizes. One, in particular, is for home energy systems that employ renewable energy systems such as solar or wind. Pay attention to the time frame in which your systems were installed, because the eligibility markers only apply to certain years of installation.
One of the benefits to the renewable energy incentive is that your income is irrelevant – it can apply as a business tax credit to small businesses or multinational corporations. If you have a geothermal heat pump, you can garner up to 26% savings – good for a maximum of $500 for every half-kilowatt of energy content in the appliance. The amount you can save varies by year, so you should check the federal government website to see how this affects your business tax.
Using Energy Star for Business Tax Benefits
Although quite a few elements of this program ended back in 2011, there are still some aspects of Energy Star utility that are slated to run through the year 2021. Even if an appliance cannot get you an Energy Star rating, it still lowers your overall energy bill. Check the website of the US Department of Energy as well as the US Environmental Protection Agency to see which Energy Star products still qualify for business tax incentives.