For companies today, energy efficiency is not only an environmental issue but also a business matter. Both cost optimisation and the drive for sustainability make it necessary for businesses to modernise their energy consumption. Significant support for this is provided by the corporate tax incentive available for energy-efficiency investments, which allows companies to claim a tax credit for investments that improve energy efficiency.
The purpose of the energy-efficiency TAO incentive is to encourage investments and refurbishments that serve energy-efficiency goals. These developments, as defined by the Energy Efficiency Act, result in measurableenergy savings—such as reducing the heat loss of buildings, modernising lighting or heating systems, or replacing technological equipment with a more energy-efficient version.
The basis of the incentive is the eligible cost of the energy-efficiency investment. Two methods may be used to determine this: the differential method and the non-differential method. Under the differential method, the basis of the tax incentive is the cost difference between the more efficient investment and the alternative conventional solution. The non-differential method is simpler: in this case, the entire investment cost serving energy-efficiency purposes qualifies as eligible. No alternative offer is required in this case, but the rate of the incentive is generally lower.
The exact rate of the TAO incentive depends on several factors. For building-energy developments, the tax credit may be 15% for large enterprises, 25% for medium-sized enterprises and up to 35% for small enterprises. For non-building-related investments—such as technological upgrades—the rate is higher: 30% in Budapest and up to 45% in other regions, which may be increased by an additional 10–20 percentage points depending on the size of the enterprise. It is important that the company must have corporate tax liability to use the incentive, the assets must be kept in use for at least five years, and the certification must be obtained by the filing deadline of the first tax return for the investment year.
The incentive cannot be applied to all investments. Exclusion criteria include, among others, if the investment is carried out solely for regulatory compliance, if the company has tax arrears, or if the same investment also receives other state support (such as a development tax incentive). The incentive does not apply to developments related to fossil-fuel systems or passenger cars either.
The energy-efficiency TAO incentive is therefore a flexible yet regulated tool that allows companies to reduce their tax burden through energy-efficiency investments. The advantage of the process is that the tax credit directly improves the payback of the investment, thereby increasing its financial attractiveness. The experts of Axing Zrt. assist their clients in assessing eligibility, planning the investment, selecting the appropriate method and managing the certification process.