Is there a federal tax credit for wood or pellet stoves?

What the credit was — and when it ended

The biomass stove credit lived inside the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit: 30 percent of the purchase and installation cost of a qualifying wood or pellet stove or insert, capped at $2,000 per year. To qualify, a unit had to run at 75 percent efficiency or better on the higher heating value (HHV) scale, documented by a manufacturer's certificate. Congress terminated that credit for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025 — so a stove installed this year gets nothing from Washington, no matter how efficient it is.

If your stove went in during 2025

You claim the credit on your 2025 return — if you've already filed without it, ask your CPA about amending. Keep two documents: the manufacturer's tax certificate for your exact model, and the itemized invoice showing purchase and installation. If we did your install and you need model documentation, call (828) 545-0525 and we'll pull it. We install stoves; we don't file returns — run the details past a tax professional.

Why the math still works without the IRS

Here's the honest part: the credit was a nice bonus, but it was never the reason to buy a serious wood stove in the mountains. An EPA-certified stove like Regency's Cascades F1500 runs at 78 percent efficiency and heats up to 1,500 square feet — dramatically less wood cut, hauled, and burned than the old smoke dragon it replaces. And after Helene left much of WNC dark for days, heat that owes nothing to the grid stopped being theoretical. Wood heat is heat you own outright.

Tax law does change course — credits like this have been revived before. We hear about it fast at the counter when that happens, and we'll say so. In the meantime, buy the stove on its merits, not on paperwork that no longer exists.