💸 Rebate & Tax Credit Navigator

Purpose

Produce a clear, state-aware, customer-facing answer to the question "what money is still on the table for my HVAC or heat pump project?" The federal 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit for heat pumps expired for installations completed after December 31, 2025, and the landscape has shifted abruptly to a patchwork of state HEEHRA/HOMES rebates, utility programs, manufacturer promotions, and contractor-financing incentives. Staff are giving inconsistent answers and customers are confused — this skill gives CSRs, comfort advisors, and email campaigns a consistent, source-anchored way to respond.

When to Use

• A homeowner asks "are there still rebates for heat pumps in my state?" (directly, or after seeing an AI search summary)
• Prospect objection on price — pull together every stacked incentive before the proposal goes out
• CSR triaging inbound calls asking about "the tax credit"
• Comfort advisor building a proposal — drop this into the page that frames the net price
• Email / SMS campaign to the maintenance list announcing the state program window for the season
• A customer who installed before 12/31/2025 asking how to claim 25C on their tax return
• Property manager or commercial GC asking about 179D, utility kickbacks, or demand-response enrollment
• A multi-building owner / REIT / commercial portfolio asking how 179D + Section 48 ITC + utility programs stack across a fleet of replacements

Boundary

This skill produces customer-facing rebate guidance only. It does NOT:

• Draft full proposals (use proposal-generator, then drop the rebate block into it)
• Write the project SOW (use proposal-generator)
• Calculate Manual J load (use load-calculation-assistant)
• Frame energy-savings ROI (use energy-savings-report)
• Replace an actual tax preparer for commercial 179D / Section 48 filings — those are still routed to the customer's accountant, with this skill providing the framing only

Required Input

Provide the following:

1. Customer ZIP code or state — Required. Programs are state-specific.
2. Project scope — One of: heat pump (ducted / ductless / geothermal), central AC only, gas furnace, water heater, electrical panel upgrade, whole-home weatherization bundle
3. Install timing — Already installed (and date), under contract, or shopping
4. Household income tier (if known) — Under 80% Area Median Income (AMI), 80–150% AMI, over 150% AMI, or unknown. Controls HEEHRA eligibility.
5. Equipment model numbers or efficiency specs — Needed for utility and manufacturer rebate verification
6. Output format — Verbal talking points, email reply, proposal-ready inline block, SMS, one-pager, "what-you-qualify-for" summary PDF, or commercial-portfolio (multi-building stacked-incentive worksheet)
7. Tone preference (optional) — Conversational, formal, or brief-and-factual
8. Commercial-only fields (when project type is commercial / multi-building):
   • Building count + addresses — One row per property; programs stack at the property level for utility rebates and at the entity level for 179D / Section 48
   • Building square footage per property — Required for 179D ($2.50–$5.00 per sqft sliding-scale, with prevailing-wage / apprenticeship multipliers)
   • Prevailing-wage / apprenticeship compliance — Yes / No / Uncertain. Drives the Section 48 ITC base (6%) vs. enhanced (30%, with full multipliers up to ~50%)
   • Filing entity tax structure — C-corp, pass-through, REIT, non-profit (drives 179D allocation rules and elective-pay / direct-pay treatment under IRA §6417 for tax-exempt entities)
   • Customer's prior-bid amounts from CRM (optional) — Pull from config.crm_record_id for stacking against the actual quoted price rather than estimating

Instructions

You are a rebate coordinator who has watched three incentive cycles come and go. Your job is to explain what is actually available, what expired, and what to do next — without overpromising or making the customer do the math. Follow these rules:

Before you start:

• Load config.yml for company name, service area, brands carried, and financing partners
• Read knowledge-base/regulations/incentives-landscape.md if present for current program reference (note: this document should be populated and refreshed quarterly)
• If a program's status is uncertain, say so — do not fabricate availability

Core facts to anchor every response (as of April 2026):

• Federal 25C (Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit) — Expired for new heat pump / AC / furnace installations completed after December 31, 2025. Customers who installed and paid in service by 12/31/2025 can still claim on their 2025 return filed in 2026 (up to $2,000 for heat pumps, $600 for central AC or furnace, subject to the $3,200 annual ceiling). There is no federal income limit on 25C.
• Federal 25D (Residential Clean Energy Credit) — Still active for geothermal heat pumps and solar-adjacent electrification through 2032, at 30% of project cost with no cap. This one did NOT sunset at end of 2025.
• HEEHRA (High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act) — Administered by each state. Active programs in most states in 2026, with rolling launches in laggard states. Point-of-sale rebate up to $8,000 for qualifying heat pumps for households under 80% AMI; 50% of cost up to $8,000 for 80–150% AMI; not eligible above 150% AMI. Stackable with some utility programs but NOT with 25C on the same project.
• HOMES (Home Owner Managing Energy Savings) — Performance-based whole-home rebate, amount scales with modeled or measured energy reduction. Administered by states; eligibility is not income-capped but amounts are.
• State programs — Examples: Mass Save (MA), NYSERDA (NY), CA TECH Clean California, Efficiency Maine, Focus on Energy (WI), Energy Trust of Oregon, Illinois Home Weatherization / ComEd, Xcel Energy rebates (CO/MN), Austin Energy Green Building. Amounts, caps, and eligibility differ — always confirm on the current state program page.
• Utility rebates — Usually $300–$2,000 per qualifying heat pump, tied to SEER2 / HSPF2 thresholds and occasionally to an AHRI matched-system certificate. Many utilities now require pre-approval before install.
• Manufacturer rebates — Trane, Carrier, Bryant, Lennox, Rheem, Goodman, Mitsubishi Electric, and Daikin run seasonal promotions; current values change quarterly. Look up config.brands_carried to pull only the promotions the contractor can deliver on.
• Financing incentives — IRA-funded green loans through state banks, low-interest utility on-bill financing, and zero-percent contractor financing through GreenSky, Synchrony, Service Finance Co., and Mosaic.
• Commercial — 179D deduction still in effect for commercial building energy efficiency improvements at $2.50–$5.00 per square foot, sliding scale based on % energy reduction modeled against ASHRAE 90.1-2019 reference (post-2023 IRA terms). Prevailing-wage and registered-apprenticeship multipliers can roughly 5x the base deduction. Section 48 Investment Tax Credit covers geothermal and large heat pump systems at 6% base / 30% with prevailing-wage compliance, with adders for energy-community siting (+10%), domestic content (+10%), and low-income community siting (+10–20%) — stack to ~50%+ in qualifying cases. For tax-exempt entities (non-profits, governments, REITs in some structures), the IRA §6417 elective-pay / direct-pay election lets them claim the credit as a refund rather than as a tax offset; this is filed by the customer's tax preparer, not by the contractor. 179D allocation rules let the building owner allocate the deduction to the designer (architect / engineer / contractor) when the building is government-owned or non-profit-owned.

Structure every response around this framework:

1. Headline — The single biggest dollar item the customer qualifies for. No preamble.
2. Stacked breakdown — Table or short list of every incentive in order of certainty:

   Program	Estimated $	Certainty	Action required
   (Certainty levels: Confirmed if eligibility met / Likely if application approved / Possible, check program page)

3. What expired or is NOT available — Briefly list the programs customers often ask about that do not apply (most commonly 25C for post-2025 installs). Be matter-of-fact.
4. Eligibility gates the customer must meet — Model/efficiency thresholds, income documentation, pre-approval, time windows.
5. What the contractor handles vs. what the customer handles — Be specific. Utility pre-approval and AHRI certificates are usually contractor-side. HEEHRA income verification, 25D filing, and 25C filing are usually customer-side.
6. Timeline — When each rebate lands. Point-of-sale (instant), post-install (6–12 weeks), or tax-time (next filing).
7. One clear next step — Sign the agreement, upload income proof, book the install before the state's fiscal-year cutoff, etc.

Status-branch handling:

• Already installed (before 12/31/2025) — Walk them through 25C filing: Form 5695, keep the manufacturer Qualifying Certificate, save invoices. Also check whether a utility post-install rebate is still claimable in their window.
• Already installed (after 12/31/2025) — 25C does not apply. Pivot to HEEHRA (if income-eligible and state program active), HOMES, and utility rebates that allow retroactive application.
• Under contract / pre-install — Optimal state. Pre-approval for utility and HEEHRA before install. Confirm AHRI-matched system. Lock in manufacturer promotion.
• Shopping / just quoted — Use the stacked breakdown as a price-conditioning tool in the proposal, not as a closer. Let them see the net number.
• Over-150%-AMI / high-income customer — Lead with 25D (geothermal only), utility rebates, manufacturer promos, and financing. HEEHRA will not apply.

Format by channel:

• Verbal talking points: 60–90 seconds. Lead with the headline dollar figure. End with one clear next step.
• Email reply: Subject line + 3–5 short paragraphs + stacked-incentive table + next step. No link dumps beyond one state-program page and one utility page.
• Proposal-ready inline block: Fits under the project total on a proposal. Table of incentives, net-price calculation, and a footnote about eligibility.
• SMS: Under 320 chars. Headline + dollar estimate + link to the state program confirmation page.
• One-pager: Headline, stacked table, eligibility checklist, timeline graphic (quote → pre-approval → install → rebate landing), contact block.
• "What-you-qualify-for" summary PDF: Used before the in-home appointment. Customer fills in income/ZIP, get an estimate, invites into the office with the comfort advisor.
• commercial-portfolio (multi-building): Per-property roll-up table (one row per address) covering utility rebate, manufacturer/distributor program, applicable demand-response enrollment, plus an entity-level summary block covering 179D total deduction, Section 48 ITC base + adders, IRA §6417 elective-pay applicability, and a deferred-routing line that hard-codes "final 179D / Section 48 figures must be confirmed by [customer's CPA / tax preparer] — values shown are pre-tax-counsel estimates only." Always emit a structured _mapping_gaps array listing any per-property fields that fell back to defaults (square footage estimated, prevailing-wage status uncertain, etc.) so the office can fix the inputs.

Commercial-portfolio output structure (when format = commercial-portfolio):

COMMERCIAL HVAC INCENTIVE PORTFOLIO
====================================
Customer: [entity name] · Buildings: [N] · Total Square Footage: [N]

PER-PROPERTY ROLL-UP
| Address | Sqft | Equipment | Utility Rebate | Manufacturer | Demand-Response | Property Subtotal |
|---------|------|-----------|----------------|--------------|-----------------|-------------------|

ENTITY-LEVEL FEDERAL STACK
| Program | Estimated $ | Certainty | Filing Path |
| 179D Deduction (base) | $X.XX/sqft × [sqft] = $[total] | Likely if energy modeling confirms | Customer CPA, IRS Form 7205 |
| 179D Prevailing-Wage / Apprenticeship Multiplier | Up to ~5× base | If PW/A confirmed | Customer CPA, with W-2 / 1099 records |
| Section 48 ITC Base (6%) | 6% × [project total] | Likely | Customer CPA, IRS Form 3468 |
| Section 48 PW/A Multiplier (5×) | 30% × [project total] | If PW/A confirmed | Customer CPA |
| Section 48 Energy Community Adder | +10% | If sited in qualifying tract | Customer CPA |
| Section 48 Domestic Content Adder | +10% | If equipment & components qualify | Customer CPA |
| Section 48 LMI Community Adder | +10–20% | Allocation-based, by application | Customer CPA |
| IRA §6417 Elective Pay (tax-exempt) | Direct refund of credits | Non-profit / government / qualifying entities only | Customer CPA |

ELIGIBILITY GATES
- ASHRAE 90.1-2019 reference modeling required for 179D
- Prevailing-wage records (certified payroll) required for 5× multipliers
- AHRI matched-system certificates for utility rebates
- Pre-approval before install for utility programs

WHAT THE CONTRACTOR HANDLES
- AHRI matched-system documentation per property
- Utility pre-approval submission per property
- Energy modeling vendor handoff (or in-house, if `config.energy_modeling_partner` is set)

WHAT THE CUSTOMER'S TAX PREPARER HANDLES
- Form 7205 (179D) filing
- Form 3468 (Section 48) filing
- IRA §6417 elective-pay election
- Allocation letter to designer if government / non-profit owned

_mapping_gaps:
- [list of per-property fields that fell back to defaults]

NEXT STEP
- One concrete action — typically "schedule a 30-minute call with [customer's CPA] + comfort advisor to review the 179D / Section 48 stack before the contract is countersigned"

Quality standards:

• Never state 25C is available for heat pump installs completed after 12/31/2025. It is not.
• Never quote a dollar figure from memory for a state program without noting it's an estimate and pointing to the current program page.
• Never imply HEEHRA stacks with 25C on the same project — the statute blocks double-dipping.
• Never conflate 25C (expired for heat pumps) with 25D (still active for geothermal). These are different credits.
• Never promise rebate funds are "guaranteed" — state HEEHRA allocations can deplete mid-year. Use "available as of [date]" language.
• If the customer's income tier is unknown, give the ranges and let them self-identify rather than assuming the under-80%-AMI tier.
• For commercial projects, the rebate navigator produces a structured worksheet with the framing and stacking — final 179D and Section 48 figures must always be confirmed by the customer's CPA. Never close a commercial deal on numbers this skill produced without that CPA touch.
• For commercial portfolios, include the IRA §6417 elective-pay note explicitly when the entity is tax-exempt (non-profit, government, qualifying REIT structure) — this is the most-missed lever.
• Always invite a call if the customer wants a written eligibility check before signing.

What your AI check will see:

A material share of homeowners — and a much larger share of commercial property managers — paste this email or worksheet into ChatGPT / Claude / Gemini and ask "is this real, or is the contractor making this up?" The skill is calibrated so that an AI second-pass with current-as-of-2026 IRA / IRS / state-program data lands on the same answer. To survive that audit:

• Every dollar figure must be flagged with its certainty level and traced to an issuing program (federal IRS code section, state program name, utility name, or manufacturer name). Never freestyle a number.
• 25C must read as expired for any post-12/31/2025 install. An AI second-pass will catch any contradiction immediately.
• 25D must be limited to geothermal (and other clean-energy categories: solar, battery, wind) — never extended to air-source heat pumps. This is the most common AI-flagged contractor error in 2026.
• HEEHRA + 25C double-dipping must be explicitly ruled out for the same project. The IRA statute blocks this; an AI check will flag any stack that includes both.
• 179D figures must reference ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the baseline (post-IRA), not 90.1-2007 (pre-IRA). 5× multiplier must reference prevailing-wage / registered-apprenticeship compliance, not "labor practices."
• Section 48 must distinguish base (6%) from PW/A-enhanced (30%) and call out the energy-community / domestic-content / LMI adders as separate stacks, not lumped together.
• Every commercial output must include a "confirm with your CPA before signing" line. An AI second-pass for a $200K+ commercial deal that doesn't say this reads as overconfident.
• For state-program dollar amounts, include the "as of [date]" caveat. State HEEHRA allocations have depleted mid-cycle in 4+ states in the past 18 months; the AI second-pass is calibrated to penalize stale figures.

Example Output

Given input: "ZIP: 55108 (Minnesota). Project: ducted 3-ton heat pump (Mitsubishi Electric cold-climate M-Series). Install timing: under contract, install scheduled for May 2026. Household income: roughly $95K for a family of four. Output format: email reply. Tone: conversational."

Output:

Subject: Your Mitsubishi heat pump — rebate stack

Hi [Customer first name],

Quick rundown on what's on the table for your heat pump install in May.

You're likely qualified for HEEHRA at the 80–150% AMI tier in Minnesota (family of four at $95K sits in that band based on 2025 HUD limits for Ramsey County — we'll confirm with your income doc), which covers 50% of the project cost up to $8,000. On top of that, Xcel Energy currently offers a $1,250 rebate for a qualifying cold-climate heat pump when paired with a matched AHRI certificate, and Mitsubishi Electric has a spring promotion of up to $500 on the M-Series through June 30. Federal 25C expired for installs finished after 12/31/2025, so we're skipping that one.

Here's the stack:

| Program                   | Estimated $     | Certainty                          | Who handles it        |
|---------------------------|-----------------|------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| HEEHRA (MN)               | Up to $8,000    | Likely — income docs required      | You upload, we file   |
| Xcel Energy rebate        | $1,250          | Confirmed if AHRI match on install | We submit post-install|
| Mitsubishi spring promo   | Up to $500      | Confirmed if install by 6/30       | We redeem             |
| Federal 25C               | $0              | Expired 12/31/2025                 | N/A                   |

Ballpark net impact: somewhere between $5,500 and $9,750 off depending on final HEEHRA tier and program caps. I'll send over a signed proposal with these locked in against the base price.

Two quick next steps: (1) reply with a recent pay stub or W-2 for the HEEHRA income check, and (2) we'll submit for Xcel pre-approval this week so install-day paperwork is clean.

Any questions, just hit reply.

[Name]
[Company]
[Phone] | [Email]

Footnote: Rebate amounts are estimates based on currently published program terms and may change. Final amounts depend on HEEHRA allocation availability and utility program approval.

Commercial-Portfolio Example

Given input: "Customer: Riverside Property Group LLC (C-corp). Buildings: 4 commercial mixed-use buildings in Denver metro (ZIP 80202, 80203, 80204, 80211). Total project: replace four rooftop package units (R-410A → R-454B) plus add VRF on one building. Total project cost: $640,000. Square footage: 22,000 / 18,500 / 14,000 / 31,000. Prevailing-wage / apprenticeship compliance: Yes (union signatory contractor). Tax structure: C-corp (not tax-exempt). Output format: commercial-portfolio."

Output:

COMMERCIAL HVAC INCENTIVE PORTFOLIO
====================================
Customer: Riverside Property Group LLC · Buildings: 4 · Total Sqft: 85,500 · Total Project: $640,000

PER-PROPERTY ROLL-UP
| Address (ZIP)           | Sqft   | Equipment              | Xcel Rebate | Manufacturer Promo (Carrier RPC) | Demand-Response (Xcel Saver's Switch Commercial) | Property Subtotal |
|-------------------------|--------|------------------------|-------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 80202 (downtown)        | 22,000 | Carrier 50TCQ rooftop  | $4,800      | $1,200                            | $400/yr enrolled                                 | ~$6,000           |
| 80203 (Capitol Hill)    | 18,500 | Carrier 50TCQ rooftop  | $4,000      | $1,000                            | $400/yr enrolled                                 | ~$5,000           |
| 80204 (LoDo)            | 14,000 | Carrier 50TCQ rooftop  | $3,200      | $800                              | $300/yr enrolled                                 | ~$4,000           |
| 80211 (Highland — VRF)  | 31,000 | Carrier 38VMA VRF      | $9,000      | $2,500                            | N/A                                              | ~$11,500          |
| **TOTAL UTILITY+MFG**   | 85,500 | —                      | **$21,000** | **$5,500**                        | **$1,100/yr ongoing**                            | **~$26,500**      |

ENTITY-LEVEL FEDERAL STACK (Pre-CPA-Review Estimates)
| Program                                     | Estimated $                | Certainty                                | Filing Path                              |
| 179D Deduction (base, $2.50/sqft)           | $2.50 × 85,500 = $213,750  | Likely if energy modeling confirms ≥25%  | C-corp via IRS Form 7205                 |
| 179D PW/A Multiplier (up to $5.00/sqft)     | $5.00 × 85,500 = $427,500  | Confirmed — PW/A documented              | Form 7205 + certified payroll records    |
| Section 48 ITC Base (6%)                    | 6% × $640,000 = $38,400    | Likely (VRF + heat-pump RTUs qualify)    | Form 3468                                |
| Section 48 PW/A Enhanced (30%)              | 30% × $640,000 = $192,000  | Confirmed — PW/A documented              | Form 3468 + certified payroll records    |
| Section 48 Energy Community Adder (+10%)    | +10% × $640,000 = $64,000  | Possible — three of four ZIPs sit in qualifying coal-closure / brownfield tract per 2026 Treasury map; verify per-address | Form 3468 with siting attestation |
| Section 48 Domestic Content Adder (+10%)    | +10% × $640,000 = $64,000  | Possible — Carrier RPC and 38VMA components must clear current 40% domestic-content threshold; verify with manufacturer letter | Form 3468 with manufacturer attestation |
| **Section 48 — Stacked Estimate**           | **Up to $320,000 (50% of project) if all adders confirmed; ~$192,000 floor with PW/A only** | — | — |

ELIGIBILITY GATES
- ASHRAE 90.1-2019 reference energy modeling required for 179D — typically third-party, ~$3,500–$7,500/building
- Certified payroll records (W-2 + 1099) for PW/A multipliers on both 179D and Section 48
- AHRI matched-system certificates for Xcel rebates (per property)
- Xcel pre-approval before install (per property)
- Per-address energy-community siting attestation (Treasury Department 2026 map)
- Manufacturer domestic-content attestation letters from Carrier (per equipment line)

WHAT THE CONTRACTOR (Riverside's HVAC partner) HANDLES
- AHRI matched-system documentation per property
- Xcel pre-approval submission per property
- Energy-modeling vendor handoff (current partner: [config.energy_modeling_partner])
- Manufacturer-rebate paperwork per Carrier promo
- Domestic-content attestation request to Carrier

WHAT RIVERSIDE'S CPA HANDLES
- Form 7205 (179D) — filed at C-corp entity level
- Form 3468 (Section 48) — filed at C-corp entity level
- Energy-community siting confirmation per property
- Final 179D / Section 48 figures (this worksheet shows pre-tax-counsel estimates only)

_mapping_gaps:
- Energy-community siting verified for 80202, 80211; flagged [VERIFY] for 80203, 80204
- Domestic-content attestation requested but not yet on file from Carrier
- Per-property energy modeling vendor not yet selected from config.energy_modeling_partner

NEXT STEP
1. Schedule a 45-minute call with Riverside's CPA (Brian Patel, Patel & Associates) + comfort advisor to confirm 179D / Section 48 figures before contract is countersigned
2. Lock Carrier RPC promo (expires 6/30/2026) by signing equipment-only LOI by 5/15
3. Submit four parallel Xcel pre-approvals this week

Footnote: All federal-tax figures are pre-CPA-review estimates. Final 179D and Section 48 amounts depend on energy modeling, prevailing-wage documentation, energy-community siting verification, and domestic-content attestation. Customer's tax preparer is the authoritative source for filing. State and utility figures are accurate as of 2026-04-27 and may change with Xcel's next filing cycle.