There is no federal tax deduction for window replacement on your personal home, and as of 2026 there is no federal tax credit either. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit under Section 25C, which returned 30% of qualifying window costs up to $600, expired for property placed in service after December 31, 2025.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25C – Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit Two paths still exist: if you installed qualifying windows during 2025, you can claim that credit on the return you file in 2026, and if the windows are on a rental or business property, the cost is recovered through depreciation.
Why Personal-Home Windows Aren’t Deductible
Improvements to your primary residence are personal expenses under the tax code, and personal expenses are not deductible. The federal benefit for energy-efficient windows on a home you live in was always structured as a credit, not a deduction, and that credit is now gone. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, cut short the Section 25C timeline the Inflation Reduction Act had extended through 2032, ending eligibility on December 31, 2025.2Internal Revenue Service. FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W, and 179D Under Public Law 119-21 No federal replacement program has been enacted, and unused credits cannot be carried forward from earlier years.
State programs and utility rebates for Energy Star products may still be available where you live, but those sit outside the federal tax code and vary by location.
Claiming the Credit for Windows Installed in 2025
If your windows went in before the cutoff, the credit is still on the table for your 2025 return. It equals 30% of the cost of the window units, capped at $600 total for all exterior windows and skylights combined.3Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit That $600 sits inside a broader $1,200 annual limit that also covers items like insulation and exterior doors.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25C – Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit Labor and installation charges do not count toward the calculation; only the cost of the windows themselves qualifies.
Eligibility
The windows must have been installed in your principal residence, meaning the home you live in most of the year. Second homes, vacation properties, and rentals do not qualify.4Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About Energy Efficient Home Improvements and Residential Clean Energy Property Credits – Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit – Qualifying Residence The home must be an existing structure you improved, not new construction. The windows themselves needed to meet Energy Star Most Efficient certification for your climate zone.3Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit Hold onto the manufacturer’s certification statement showing the U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient.5ENERGY STAR. Residential Windows, Doors, and Skylights
If part of your home was used for business, the full credit is available when business use was 20% or less. Above that, the credit is reduced proportionally.3Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
The PIN or QMID You’ll Need on the Return
Windows placed in service during 2025 require you to report either a 4-character Qualified Manufacturer Identification Number (QMID) or the full 17-character product identification number (PIN) on the return claiming the credit.6Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit – PIN Requirements The number is on the product label or in the manufacturer’s paperwork. If you can’t find it, check the manufacturer’s website or call before you file.
How to File
Use Part II of IRS Form 5695. Enter the window cost, apply 30%, cap at $600, and carry the result to the nonrefundable credits line of your Form 1040.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 5695 Residential Energy Credits The credit is nonrefundable, so it can zero out your tax but won’t generate a refund past that.8Internal Revenue Service. Tax Credits for Individuals – What They Mean and How They Can Help Refunds There is no carryforward; anything above your 2025 tax liability is lost. Keep invoices and the manufacturer certification with your records; don’t mail them with the return.
Rental Property: Depreciation, Not a Credit
Windows on a rental have always been handled through deductions rather than credits, and the 25C expiration doesn’t change that. A full window replacement is a capital improvement, not a repair, so you recover the cost through depreciation rather than expensing it in the year you paid.
On residential rental property, the recovery period is 27.5 years, straight-line, under MACRS.9Internal Revenue Service. Publication 527 – Residential Rental Property A $15,000 project produces roughly $545 in annual depreciation, reported on Schedule E and set up on Form 4562. Labor is included in the depreciable basis. Residential rental improvements do not qualify as Qualified Improvement Property, so the 15-year period, Section 179 expensing, and bonus depreciation available for some commercial work do not apply here.
Small-Dollar Elections
Two safe harbors can let smaller jobs be expensed currently instead of capitalized. The de minimis safe harbor allows a current deduction for individual items costing $2,500 or less, or $5,000 with audited financial statements. The IRS tangible property regulations also provide a safe harbor for small taxpayers that may allow certain building improvements to be expensed depending on the property’s value and total annual improvement spending.10Internal Revenue Service. Tangible Property Regulations – Frequently Asked Questions Both require documentation and a timely filed election.
Commercial Buildings
Nonresidential property has more favorable rules for some improvements. Qualified Improvement Property carries a 15-year recovery period, and under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 100% bonus depreciation is permanently available for qualifying property acquired after January 19, 2025.11Internal Revenue Service. Treasury, IRS Issue Guidance on the Additional First Year Depreciation Deduction Amended as Part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Windows sit in the building envelope rather than the interior, though, so they likely fall outside QIP and would be depreciated over the building’s standard recovery period. Classification depends on the specifics, and this is where a tax professional’s input is worth the fee.
Home Offices and Partial Business Use
If you’re self-employed and use part of your home exclusively and regularly for business, a share of window replacement costs can be deducted through the home office deduction. The deductible portion tracks the percentage of the home used for business. A 15% office would potentially deduct 15% of the window cost, calculated on Form 8829. This works only under the regular method; the simplified per-square-foot method already bundles all home expenses into its flat rate, so a separate deduction isn’t available on top of it.