WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service called on the public to provide feedback on how to apply the $270 million in tax incentive funding received from the Inflation Reduction Act. The 179D Commercial Buildings Energy-Efficiency Tax Deduction incentivizes building owners and designers to opt for building designs at least 25% more energy efficient than a reference building from ASHRAE Standard 90.1. Presently, the tax deduction relies on ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 because Treasury has not affirmed the more recent version, ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019.

ASHRAE’s response to the treasury department declared that to meaningfully contribute to meeting the administration’s goal of achieving a 50%-52% reduction from 2005 greenhouse gas emission levels by 2030, and a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, the department of the treasury should align with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and affirm the most recent version of the standard, ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2019, as the reference building standard. If affirmed, ASHRAE 90.1-2019 would become the reference building standard four years from the date of affirmation. A full copy of the letter can be read here.