Form 8908

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service 

Energy Efficient Home Credit

▶ Attach to your tax return.

OMB No. 1545-1979

2013

Attachment ▶ Information about Form 8908 and its instructions is at www.irs.gov/form8908. Sequence No. 153

Name(s) shown on return Identifying number 

1 a Enter the total number of qualified energy efficient homes including 

qualified energy efficient manufactured homes meeting the 50% 

standard that were sold or leased to another person for use as a

residence during the tax year (see instructions) . . . . . . . . 1a 

b Multiply line 1a by $2,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1b 

2 a Enter the total number of qualified energy efficient manufactured 

homes meeting the 30% standard that were sold or leased to another 

person for use as a residence during the tax year (see instructions) . . 2a 

b Multiply line 2a by $1,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2b 

3 Energy efficient home credit from partnerships and S corporations . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

4 Add lines 1b, 2b, and 3. Partnerships and S corporations, report this amount on Schedule K. All 

others, report this amount on Form 3800, line 1p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

General Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code 

unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to 

Form 8908 and its instructions, such as legislation 

enacted after they were published, go to 

www.irs.gov/form8908.

What’s New 

The energy efficient home credit is scheduled to expire 

for qualified new energy efficient homes sold or leased 

after 2013. Do not report these homes on Form 8908 

unless the credit is extended. See Future Developments,

earlier. 

Purpose of Form 

Eligible contractors use Form 8908 to claim a credit for 

each qualified energy efficient home sold or leased to 

another person during the tax year for use as a 

residence. The credit ($2,000 or $1,000) is based on the 

energy saving requirements of the home. The credit is 

part of the general business credit. 

Taxpayers other than partnerships or S corporations, 

whose only source of this credit is from a pass-through 

entity, are not required to complete or file this form. 

Instead, they can report this credit directly on Form 3800. 

See section 45L for more information. 

Who May Claim the Credit 

Eligible contractors may claim the credit for new energy 

efficient homes that are acquired by sale or lease by an 

individual from that contractor during the tax year for use 

as a residence. 

Definitions 

Eligible Contractor 

An eligible contractor is the person that constructed a 

qualified energy efficient home (or produced a qualified 

energy efficient home that is a manufactured home). A 

person must own and have a basis in the qualified 

energy efficient home during its construction to qualify as 

an eligible contractor with respect to the home. For 

example, if the person that hires a third party contractor 

to construct the home owns and has the basis in the 

home during construction, the person that hires the third 

party contractor is the eligible contractor and the third 

party contractor is not an eligible contractor. 

Qualified New Energy Efficient Home 

A qualified new energy efficient home is a dwelling unit 

located in the United States, whose construction is 

substantially completed after August 8, 2005, and sold or 

leased to another person after 2005 but before 2014, for 

use as a residence. The home is also required to be 

certified and meet certain energy saving requirements. 

Construction includes substantial reconstruction and 

rehabilitation. 

Energy Saving Requirements 

The amount of the credit is based on the extent to which 

each new energy efficient home meets the energy saving 

requirements discussed below.

50% energy efficient standard. The credit is $2,000 for 

a dwelling unit that is certified to have an annual level of 

heating and cooling energy consumption at least 50% 

below the annual level of heating and cooling energy 

consumption of a comparable dwelling unit and has

building envelope component improvements that account 

for at least 1/5 of the 50% reduction in energy

consumption. A manufactured home meeting the 

requirements described above and the Federal 

Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards 

(FMHCSS) requirements (see 24 C.F.R. part 3280) is also 

eligible for the $2,000 credit.

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions. Cat. No. 37718T Form 8908 (2013) 
Form 8908 (2013) Page 2 

Comparable dwelling unit. A comparable dwelling 

unit: 

• Is constructed in accordance with the standards of 

chapter 4 of the 2006 International Energy Conservation 

Code as such Code (including supplements) was in effect 

on January 1, 2006,

• Has air conditioners with a Seasonal Energy Efficiency 

Ratio (SEER) of 13, measured in accordance with 10 

C.F.R. 430.23(m), and

• Has heat pumps with a SEER of 13 and a Heating 

Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) of 7.7, measured in 

accordance with 10 C.F.R. 430.23(m).

30% energy efficient standard. The credit is $1,000 for 

a manufactured home that does not meet the 50%

energy saving requirement but is certified to have an 

annual level of heating and cooling energy consumption

at least 30% below the annual level of heating and 

cooling energy consumption of a comparable dwelling 

unit (discussed above) and:

• Meets FMHCSS requirements, and 

• Has building envelope component improvements that 

account for at least 1/3 of the 30% reduction in energy 

consumption, or 

• Meets the current requirements established by the 

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 

under the Energy Star Labeled Homes program. 

Heating and cooling energy and cost savings must be 

calculated using the procedures described in Residential 

Energy Services Network (RESNET) Publication 13-001, 

or an equivalent calculation procedure. You can access 

RESNET publications at 

www.resnet.us/standards/taxcredits/procedures.pdf. 

Certification 

An eligible contractor must obtain a certification that the 

dwelling unit meets the requirements of section 45L(c) 

from an eligible certifier before claiming the section 45L 

credit. The certification will be treated as satisfying the 

requirements of section 45L(c) if all the construction has 

been performed in a manner consistent with the design 

specifications provided to the eligible certifier and the 

certification contains all of the information required by 

section 3 of Notice 2008-35, available at www.irs.gov/

irb/2008-12_IRB/ar14.html, or, for manufactured homes, 

section 3 or section 4 of Notice 2008-36, available at 

www.irs.gov/irb/2008-12_IRB/ar15.html. 

Specific Instructions 

Line 1 

For each home that meets the 50% energy efficient 

standard, the allowable credit is $2,000. 

Reduce the expenses incurred in the construction of 

each new home by the amount of the credit. Expenses 

taken into account for either the rehabilitation credit or 

energy credit part of the investment tax credit may not 

again be considered in determining the energy efficient 

home credit. See section 45L(f). 

Line 2 

For each manufactured home that meets the 30% energy 

efficient standard, the allowable credit is $1,000. 

Reduce the expenses incurred in the construction of 

each new home by the amount of the credit. Expenses 

taken into account for either the rehabilitation credit or 

energy credit part of the investment tax credit may not 

again be considered in determining the energy efficient 

home credit. See section 45L(f). 

Line 3 

Enter the amount of credit allocated to you as a 

shareholder or partner. 

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the 

information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue 

laws of the United States. You are required to give us the 

information. We need it to ensure that you are complying 

with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the 

right amount of tax. 

You are not required to provide the information 

requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork 

Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB 

control number. Books or records relating to a form or its 

instructions must be retained as long as their contents 

may become material in the administration of any Internal 

Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return 

information are confidential, as required by section 6103. 

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary 

depending on individual circumstances. The estimated 

burden for individual taxpayers filing this form is approved 

under OMB control number 1545-0074 and is included in 

the estimates shown in the instructions for their individual 

income tax return. The estimated burden for all other 

taxpayers who file this form is shown below. 

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . 2 hr., 9 min. 

Learning about the law or the form . . . . 12 min. 

Preparing and sending the form to the IRS . 14 min. 

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of 

these time estimates or suggestions for making this form 

simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. See the 

instructions for the tax return with which this form is filed.