As the year enters its fourth quarter, an important deadline is looming for commercial building owners and designers seeking opportunities to minimize their tax burdens: the §179D deduction for energy-efficient buildings is currently due to expire on December 31, 2020. As one of the “tax extenders”—a group of temporary tax incentives that are only authorized [...]
A structural engineering firm was hired by the State of Washington to design three new schools, which totaled an estimated 281,558 square feet. The designs incorporated several energy efficiency measures in the lighting systems, HVAC systems, and the building envelope. These measures exceeded ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, indicating that the buildings met the latest widely accepted [...]
An architecture firm in Connecticut was hired by a government entity to design an 89,693 square-foot elementary school. The design, which was completed in 2020, included several energy efficiency measures in the school’s lighting, HVAC systems, and the building envelope. These measures were found to exceed the standards of ASHRAE 90.1-2007 by over 50 percent, [...]
From designing sustainable buildings to developing plans that incorporate more cost-efficient materials or construction methods, architects and engineers often pursue innovative new techniques in their day-to-day work. However, many architecture and engineering firms miss out on the opportunity to significantly reduce their tax burdens with a commonly overlooked incentive: the Research and Development (R&D) Tax [...]