Archive for the ‘Architects’ Category

December 10, 2012 By: Heidi Henderson

Over the past few weeks there has been some confusion on the status of the 179D extension.  A blog post written by Danielle Stewart on November 28 titled US Senators Pass ‘More Efficient’ Energy Act has gone “viral” in our industry!

We would like to set the record straight and provide some information on the current status of the bill, and what the proposed extension entails.  The extension titled S. 3591: Commercial Building Modernization Act was introduced to the Committee on September 20, 2012 and is awaiting congressional approval and final Presidential sign-off. At this point, the bill has not been passed.

Based on our current legislative connections, we believe that the bill will be passed prior to the end of the year and will diligently work to keep our clients posted of these and other changes as they occur.

In the meantime, the extension has proposed these changes:

• Deduction increased from $1.80 to a range of $1.00 – $4.00 per sq.ft.
• Allocation from Non-Profits to a Third-Party
• Allows REIT’s to allocate benefit to other holding companies, contractors, engineers or designers.
• Extended for properties placed in service (PIS) through the end of 2016
• Will focus on efficiencies for existing buildings
• Updated Efficiency Standards –
  • ASHRAE 90.1-2004 for PIS dates between 2012-2014
  • ASHRAE 90.1-2007 for PIS dates between 2015-2016
  • Scales the Tax Deduction by Reduction % (see chart below)

Energy Savings	Deduction Allowed     (per sq.ft.)
20%-24%	$1.00
24%-29%	$1.50
30%-34%	$2.00
35%-39%	$2.50
40%-44%	$3.00
45%-49%	$3.50
50% or more	$4.00

Although the monetary benefit may be increased, the qualification standards will be more stringent. Therefore, we recommend that property owners or designers completing projects with energy efficient upgrades or components pursue the 179D deduction before the onset of these new regulations.

For more information, please contact Engineered Tax Services.

The Independent Electrical Contractors, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), and dozens of other construction and real estate groups have signed a letter in support of Senate Bill 3591, the Commercial Building Modernization Act (CBMA), which extends and enhances the tax deduction at Section 179D of the Internal Revenue Code for energy efficient commercial and multifamily buildings. Buildings use more energy than any other sector of the U.S. economy and consume more than 70 percent of electricity in the country.

179D was one of several key tax incentives enacted over the last several years focused on encouraging businesses to incorporate energy efficiency into their operational plans. 179D in particular relates to the design and construction of energy-efficient commercial building property. Intended to offset some of the costs of qualifying energy-efficient improvements to commercial buildings, the deduction allows building owners to take an immediate expense for the cost of property that would normally be recovered through depreciation. To qualify, energy-efficient improvements must reduce total annual energy and power costs with respect to the interior lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water systems by 50 percent. Partial deductions are allowed.

179D expires at the end of 2013, but work on extending and improving this important deduction has already begun. Specifically, the CBMA improves Section 179D’s effectiveness by making the tax incentive useable for a broader range of building owners, such as those owned by real estate investment trusts and certain LLPs. It also makes the incentive “performance based” and “technology neutral” mean that the greater the energy savings, the greater the deduction, and the incentive applies to projects not products, so owners and their contractors can decide among the best suite of efficiency measures that will achieve optimal energy performance in their assets rather than specifying particular equipment or products.

Published October 22, 2012 at: http://njecpac.blogspot.com/2012/10/iec-supports-extension-of-179d-tax.html

For more information please contact ETS at (561) 253-6640 or email: info@engineeredtaxservices.com

New York City has publicly posted 2011 energy benchmarking results for 2,065 large commercial properties representing more than 530 million square feet, marking the first time any US city, state or county has disclosed private-sector building energy data from a mandatory policy.

The database includes site energy use intensity (EUI), a measure of the energy used at the site on a per square foot basis; the weather-normalized source EUI, which takes into account generation and distribution losses; greenhouse gas emissions; water per square foot, and the Energy Star scores for buildings, where such a rating is applicable.

This article is available to be read in full through the following link. Click Here As Provided by the Environmental Leader

Hosted by NetworkingMFG, on October 9., Georgia

Are you interested in learning about a relatively unknown tax incentive for an activity which you probably already undertake in your business every day

Attend this highly informative session to learn how to return capital back into your pocket, from this IRS tax incentive, to further grow your firm and remain competitive in the marketplace. Who will benefit from this session, Engineers, Manufacturers, Designers and other trades who customize for clients.

This event is complimentary, and learning credits are available.

Substantially Increase The Business Use of The R&D Tax Credit

This October we bring to you a seminar which is unique in that the US Government will provide you with significant tax advantages for the activities you most likely currently undertake in your firm to remain competitive and meet clients demands. During this session, Art Goessel will provide an overview of the advantages of the R&D Tax Credits, and how they can be obtained and utilized in business. During this seminar, Art will discuss the changes to this tax credit in 2011 and 2012, new R&D credit-related options and their applications as well as two landmark cases and how they impacted the R&D credit.

Art Goessel is the Director of Alliance Relations for a national engineering firm, Engineered Tax Services, a company that focuses specifically on providing clients with third party engineering reports required by the IRS in order for companies to claim the many financially beneficial tax incentives provided by the US Government.

Art is a highly informative speaker, and a seasoned executive with of 35 years experience in working with accounting firms both nationally and internationally. Art is committed to educating the accounting, designer, financial advisor and real estate investor communities on engineered accounting services and the related tax benefits of these services. He is a regular public speaker on a national level.

Art has a Degree from Oklahoma State University, and his passion, other than his career, is his grand children as well as being involved as a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Miami, Florida.

To register for this event, contact Jason Moss
NetworkingMFG.com
678-896-9312

Leading up to the election, the promises discussed by President Obama and Presidential candidate Mr Romney include several specialty tax statements.  Specifically;

The R&D Tax Credit

Mr Romney has proposed to make permanent the research tax credit

Mr Obama has proposed to make permanent the research tax credit and to increase the alternative simplified credit from 14 percent to 17 percent.

The DPAD – S. 199

The Code Sec. 199 domestic production activities deduction allows qualified taxpayers to deduct an amount equal to the lesser of a phased-in percentage of taxable income (adjusted gross income for individuals) or qualified production activities income.

Mr Romney has not addressed the Code Sec. 199 deduction.

Mr Obama has proposed to disallow the Code Sec. 199 deduction for oil and gas producers and coal and other hard mineral fossil fuels.

Energy

The 2009 Recovery Act extended the placed in service date for wind energy facilities for the energy production tax credit to December 31, 2012.

Mr Romney has indicated his opposition to extending the energy production tax credit for wind energy facilities.

Mr Obama has proposed to extend the energy production tax credit for wind energy facilities

This brief is provided by CCH – a copy of the brief is available through the following link. 2012 Tax Policies of the Major Presidential Candidates_September 11 2012

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center

Join Cindy Lucas, Director, Energy Policy Act 179D, Room A, Gain an understanding of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and recently extended 179D Federal Tax benefits available for the design of energy-efficient buildings:

* Recognize the benefits for Property Owners, Investors, CPA’s, Real Estate Attorneys, Architects, Engineers, Corporations, Energy Consultants and Lighting, HVAC, Roof & Insulation Contractors.

* Learn how the “Designer” (Architect, Engineer, and Specialty Contractor) qualifies to claim substantial tax benefits under 179D for any public or government-owned buildings.

* Learn how to take advantage of new energy tax incentives, niche strategies like cost segregation studies and insurance replacement appraisals for valuable tax savings and increased cash flow

* Understand how these new tax strategies offered by the government, can become an additional value-added service to your clients.

For details http://www.sf-fm.info/

The Senate Finance Committee has approved a package of tax breaks that includes a one-year extension of the renewable energy tax credit and the wind production tax credit.  The Hill reports that the Pentagon and the Interior Department have reached an agreement to develop green energy projects on military bases to steer industry investments to renewables and ensure energy for bases if the commercial grid is disrupted.

Peter J. Scalise, National Partner-in-Charge of Engineered Tax Services, was recently interviewed and quoted indicating

“While getting tax legislation passed in any presidential election year is oftentimes both rare and arduous, it is patently clear that passing a renewable energy extension is critical to both the long term success of the US economy and environment and wholeheartedly believe that my constituents on the Hill will do the right thing and pass this legislation before the close of this calendar year.”

The article was published by The Weekly Planet, and available as to view on this link.

Research and Development in a business, does not need to take place in a laboratory to benefit from this tax credit.  Many businesses implement research and development activities each day to remain competitive and meet the demands of their clients.

To learn more about this tax credit and avoid an IRS audit, attend ETS’s complimentary webinar.

To register, click this link https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/759207057

CPE learning credit.

By John Cummings

In a recently released draft of a bill that may be proposed as early as the U.S. Senate’s next term, Senators Jeff Bingaman(D-NM) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) are working on what appear to be aggressive improvements to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provides tax benefits for the installation of energy efficient commercial building improvements. The Act is also known as EPACT or 179D.

Currently, EPACT allows a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per sq. foot under section 179D of the tax code for commercial buildings with energy efficient installations and upgrades to HVAC, lighting or building envelope. Under this new proposed bill, which would include amendments to Section 179D and the addition of a Section 179F, new tax deductions would be implemented that may be extremely beneficial to commercial property owners.

Proposed changes include:

• Extending the expiration date of the tax benefit from December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2016.

• Increasing the maximum amount of the deduction from $1.80 to $3.00 per square foot.

• Allowing deductions to be allocated to other parties not only when the property is owned by a government, but also not-for-profit and privately-owned commercial properties.

• Allowing an allocation of the deduction not only to designers of energy efficient improvements but also building tenants, financiers, professional engineers, licensed contractors, energy services companies or other building professionals.

• Permitting a partial allowance for some energy efficient upgrades, with an increase from $1.00 to $3.00 and $2.20 to $3.00, for the relevant energy efficient part of the upgrade.

• Permitting exterior lighting systems, including lighting for parking lots, spaces or garages of a building to qualify that did not previously qualify.

• Allowances that may make this a favorable tax strategy and incentive for real estate investment trusts(REITs).

• The introduction of a new section, 179F, which provides for the deduction for retrofits of existing commercial and multi-family buildings. Highlights include:

• Each certified retrofit provides for an allowable deduction equal to or lesser of the sum of the design deduction and the realized deduction or 50 percent of the total cost to develop and implement the certified retrofit plan.

• Deductions range from $1.00 per square foot of 20 to 24 percent retrofit energy savings to $4.00 for 50 percent or more.

• Commercial Historic buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places increase by 20 percent.

Along with the proposed new and increased benefits, the bill proposes a higher benchmark of energy efficiency than the original 2005 Act. According to John Cummings, Executive Strategic Officer of Engineered Tax Services, an engineering firm that specializes in assisting the CPA community make the most of energy-focused tax benefits, these proposed changes could have a very positive effect. “By extending and expanding the tax benefits for businesses that choose more energy-efficient building products and services, the bill would help these businesses to not only save some money that can be directly reinvested back into their business, it would also encourage the proliferation of more environmentally conscious building in general,” says Cummings. “I think that’s something we can all agree is a good thing.”

For a complete copy of the proposed bill, contact Julio Gonzalez, CEO of Engineered Tax Services, at jgonzalez@engineeredtaxservices.com.

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Organized by the AIA VA, Join Michael D’Onofrio as he presents at this years Architecture Exchange East Conference.

Michael will be educating Architects on how they can maximize on the benefits of the green energy tax to improve cash flow, become more competitive in the marketplace and improve energy efficiency in buildings.

Date: November 8, 2012

Time: 8.30am

Venue:  Greater Richmond Convention Center

For details visit – http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/ae_index.html