Performance of Commercial and Multifamily Buildings

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Performance of Commercial and Multifamily Buildings

Legislation has been introduced in the Senate to extend and revamp the tax deductions for building owners to improve the energy efficiency of their commercial and multifamily buildings. The bill “Commercial Building Modernization Act" (S. 3591) was introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA).

The legislation has the following provisions:

Extends the credit that is set to expire on December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2016.

Offers sliding scale deductions beginning at $1 per square foot for reducing the energy consumption of a building by a minimum of 20% and increasing up to $4 per square foot for a reduction of 50% or more.
Simplifies the process for taxpayers to apply for the tax deduction.

The bill provides guidance that the legislation’s implementing regulations shall rely upon established protocols and documents used in the ENERGY STAR program, and industry best practices and existing guidelines, such as the Building Energy Modeling Guidelines of the Commercial Energy Services Network (COMNET).

Download the legislation at Commercial Building Modernization Act here.