Most appliances you buy for your own home cannot be claimed on your federal tax return, but claiming appliances on taxes is possible in four situations: the appliance qualifies for the Residential Clean Energy Credit, it serves a rental property you own, a doctor prescribes it as medically necessary, or it equips a dedicated home office. One major change for 2026: the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit that used to cover heat pump water heaters, biomass stoves, and similar equipment no longer applies to anything installed after December 31, 2025.1Internal Revenue Service. FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, 25E, 30C, 30D, 45L, 45W, and 179D Under Public Law 119-21
Energy Credits Available in 2026
The Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D is the main energy-related tax break still available. It equals 30% of the cost of solar electric panels, solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines, fuel cells, and battery storage installed at your home.2Internal Revenue Service. Residential Clean Energy Credit There is no annual dollar cap, and any unused portion carries forward to a future tax year.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25D – Residential Clean Energy Credit
A standard refrigerator, dishwasher, washing machine, or dryer for personal use does not qualify for this credit, no matter how efficient it is. The 25D credit is limited to the specific clean-energy systems named in the statute.
If you received a utility rebate or state incentive on the same installation, that amount generally reduces your qualifying expenses before you calculate the credit. Public utility subsidies are not taxable income, but they do shrink the credit base.4IRS.gov. Updates to Frequently Asked Questions About the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit and the Residential Clean Energy Property Credit You claim the credit on Form 5695.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
If You Installed Qualifying Equipment in 2025
The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit under Section 25C ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. If you installed qualifying equipment before that date but haven’t yet filed your 2025 return, you can still claim it on that return using Form 5695. The prior annual limits were $2,000 for heat pumps and biomass systems and $1,200 for other qualifying improvements.6Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit For anything installed in 2026 or later, this credit is unavailable.
Appliances in a Rental Property
Landlords have the most direct path to writing off appliances, because the IRS treats them as business expenses rather than personal ones. Which method you use depends on the appliance’s cost and your broader tax picture.
De Minimis Safe Harbor for Appliances Under $2,500
If an appliance costs $2,500 or less, you can elect the de minimis safe harbor and deduct the full amount in the year you buy it.7Internal Revenue Service. Tangible Property Final Regulations The threshold applies per invoice or per item for taxpayers without audited financial statements, which covers most individual landlords. Make the election by including a statement with your timely filed return. An $1,800 refrigerator for a rental unit can be fully deducted upfront, with no depreciation tracking.
Section 179 and Bonus Depreciation for Larger Purchases
For appliances above the safe-harbor threshold, you still don’t have to spread the cost over years. Section 179 lets you deduct the full purchase price of tangible personal property placed in service during the tax year, including stoves, refrigerators, washers, and dryers in a rental unit.8Internal Revenue Service. Depreciation Expense Helps Business Owners Keep More Money Separately, federal law now provides 100% bonus depreciation for qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025, so the entire cost of a rental appliance can be written off in year one.9Internal Revenue Service. Treasury, IRS Issue Guidance on the Additional First Year Depreciation Deduction Amended as Part of the One Big Beautiful Bill
Standard MACRS Depreciation
If you’d rather spread the deduction, or you’re limited by passive activity rules, rental appliances fall into the five-year property class under MACRS.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 527, Residential Rental Property Your annual depreciation is based on the cost basis, which includes purchase price, sales tax, and installation. This approach makes sense when rental income is low in the current year and you’d rather use the deduction later.
Watch Out for Depreciation Recapture
When you sell a rental property, the IRS taxes the depreciation you claimed on appliances and the building as ordinary income at up to 25%. This applies whether you actually claimed the depreciation or not, because the recapture is based on depreciation you were entitled to take. Skipping the deduction doesn’t help you avoid the tax at sale. A like-kind exchange under Section 1031 can defer the recapture, but only if you reinvest the proceeds into another qualifying property.
Landlords report appliance expenses and depreciation on Schedule E.11Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss If you claim Section 179 or bonus depreciation, add Form 4562.
Medically Necessary Appliances
An appliance a doctor prescribes to treat a specific medical condition can qualify as a deductible medical expense under Section 213.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 213 – Medical, Dental, Etc., Expenses The common example is a specialized air filtration or air conditioning system installed for someone with a severe respiratory condition. The rule extends to any equipment whose primary purpose is treating an illness or physical limitation rather than general comfort.
When a medically necessary appliance is a permanent improvement to your home, you can deduct only the cost that exceeds any increase in your home’s market value. If a central air purification system costs $15,000 but adds $5,000 to your home’s value, your deductible medical expense is $10,000. Get an appraisal to document the value change if the IRS questions the deduction.
Medical expenses are subject to the 7.5% adjusted gross income floor. If your AGI is $80,000, only the portion of total medical expenses above $6,000 counts toward an itemized deduction. Report these on Schedule A, and remember you have to itemize rather than take the standard deduction.13Internal Revenue Service. About Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions Keep the prescribing physician’s written recommendation and an itemized receipt. Without that paperwork, the deduction rarely survives an audit.
Appliances Used in a Home Office
If you run a business from a dedicated space in your home, appliances used exclusively for that business may be deductible. The key rule is exclusive use: the space where the appliance sits must serve only your trade or business, not double as a personal area.14Internal Revenue Service. Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home A mini-fridge in a home studio used solely for client meetings qualifies. The same mini-fridge in your kitchen does not.
How you deduct the appliance depends on your home office method. The simplified method gives you a flat $5-per-square-foot deduction (up to 300 square feet) that covers all home office expenses; you cannot separately deduct or depreciate individual items under it. The regular method lets you depreciate the appliance on its own. You can even depreciate a standalone business appliance while using the simplified method for the home itself, as long as the appliance is not part of the home structure.15Internal Revenue Service. FAQs – Simplified Method for Home Office Deduction
Records to Keep and Forms to File
The IRS generally requires you to keep tax records for at least three years from the date you filed the return.16Internal Revenue Service. How Long Should I Keep Records? For depreciated rental appliances, that baseline isn’t enough. Keep records for as long as the depreciation recovery period lasts, then three years beyond the return on which you claimed the final deduction, because recapture can occur in any year of the recovery period.17Internal Revenue Service. Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property For a five-year MACRS appliance, that can mean holding paperwork for eight years or more.
Whichever credit or deduction applies, the documentation looks similar:
- Itemized receipts showing purchase price, model number, date of purchase, and date placed in service.
- Manufacturer certification statements for energy credits, proving the appliance meets efficiency standards. Keep these for a 2025 return even though the 25C credit has since expired.
- A written diagnosis or prescription for medically necessary appliances, specifying the condition and why the equipment is needed.
- Cost basis records for rental property, including sales tax and installation costs, which feed directly into your depreciation schedule.
Energy credits go on Form 5695. Rental property deductions and depreciation go on Schedule E. Medical appliance deductions belong on Schedule A. Filing the wrong form can trigger a notice or flag the return for review, so match each expense to the form the IRS instructions specify.