Energy Credit (no income tax due, just self employment tax)

JuliaMajeski

I added a heat pump this year, and expected a credit. However it keeps coming up 0. So when I looked into it a little deeper, it says that the credit goes against the income tax I would owe. I don’t pay income tax, I only pay self employment tax…..is there anyway around this?

RBorch

https://community.freetaxusa.com/discussion/338/energy-credit-no-income-tax-due-just-self-employment-tax

The Energy Credit is a non-refundable credit. Nonrefundable Credits are credits that you subtract from your tax liability. These credits may reduce your tax to zero. If these credits are more than your tax, the excess is NOT refunded to you. Since your tax liability is already 0, this is why the credit is not being applied to your return.