Our expertise · Section 179D Studies

Section 179D for Designers

Substantiate the incentive your design work may have earned, with the owner's allocation and the engineering behind it.

You are an architect, engineer or design-build contractor, and a building you designed for a school district, a city, a Tribal Nation or a nonprofit has efficient HVAC, lighting or envelope systems. That owner pays no federal income tax, so the Section 179D deduction for the building can be allocated to the designer of those systems, but only when the owner authorizes it in writing, and only to the party responsible for the technical specifications. Being on the project team is not the same as being the eligible designer. Green Summit helps designers evaluate 179D opportunities on qualifying tax-exempt-owned buildings, bringing the technical review, owner coordination and documentation together without assuming that participation in construction establishes eligibility.

Licensed engineering firm
In-house CPAs
179D experience since 2007
Audit-ready documentation

Who this is for

Architecture, engineering and design-build firms with completed or in-progress work on government, Tribal and other qualifying tax-exempt-owned buildings, and the accounting firms that advise them.

Builders, Contractors & Design Teams Accounting & Advisory Firms

What we do

Confirm the designer role. We review who was responsible for creating the technical specifications for the qualifying systems, and we document it before anything else is built on it.
Review the project and the owner. We check ownership, construction-start and placed-in-service dates, the system information and the engineering pathway that applies.
Coordinate the allocation. We help organize the owner's authorization and the written allocation to the eligible designer, including shared-project responsibilities where more than one firm was involved.
Build the substantiation package. We connect the energy analysis, field verification, certification and allocation records into one file for your tax advisors.

Our process

Identify candidate projects. We review your project list, the construction-start and placed-in-service dates and your firm's actual scope on each building. Date screening comes first, before any technical work.
Confirm the owner process. We determine the owner's authorized contacts, approvals and record requirements, so the request reaches the right desk with the right documents.
Complete the technical work. We perform the modeling, inspections and certification support the claim requires.
Close the documentation. We reconcile the allocation and the technical package with you and your advisors, and we identify anything still open.

What you receive

A screened project list, the executed allocation with its supporting records, and the energy analysis, site inspection and engineering certification behind it, organized so your tax advisor can evaluate the claim without reassembling the file.

Benefits

A structured way to evaluate completed or in-progress eligible projects.
Less ambiguity about which party supplies and approves each record.
Technical and allocation evidence organized for your tax team.

Why Green Summit

Green Summit works both sides of the opportunity: the engineering that certifies the systems and the administration that produces a valid allocation. As a consulting partner delivering end-to-end compliance solutions, we support the owner's decision process and your documentation needs at the same time, while keeping the tax claimant and each party's responsibilities clear. Our leadership's 179D experience dates to 2007, professional experience that predates the firm's founding in 2014, and it shows in how we screen designer projects: dates and documented roles first, deduction second. Licensed engineers and in-house CPAs build every package to be audit-ready from day one.

What changed in 2026

Under federal legislation enacted in July 2025 (Public Law 119-21), Section 179D winds down for property whose construction begins after June 30, 2026. Property that began construction on or before that date falls under the statutory transition rule, so existing and transition projects require date-specific review; this is not a blanket completion deadline. We screen construction-start and placed-in-service records first, before anyone counts on an allocation.

An allocation does not by itself establish entitlement to a deduction. Eligibility, designer status, certification, claim year and other requirements still apply. The allocation requires the owner's separate written authorization. An engineering study does not replace a properly executed allocation. The deduction is not the same as cash received. Its value depends on your firm's tax position, and your tax advisor determines the claim.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Section 179D designer allocation?

Section 179D is a federal deduction for energy-efficient commercial building property: qualifying HVAC, interior lighting, hot-water systems and the building envelope. When the building is owned by a government, Tribal or other qualifying tax-exempt entity, the owner may allocate the deduction to the person primarily responsible for designing those systems. The allocation is the owner's written decision; the deduction then belongs to the eligible designer, and the designer's tax advisor evaluates the claim.

Who counts as a designer?

Eligibility depends on responsibility for creating the technical specifications for qualifying installed property, not the job title alone. We review the documented role with your tax advisor and the eligible owner before anyone relies on it.

Do we need an allocation from the owner?

Yes. On the designer route, the specified tax-exempt owner must authorize the allocation in writing under the requirements that apply. An engineering study does not replace a properly executed allocation, and we never treat one as a substitute for the other.

What projects should we screen first?

Start with government, Tribal and other qualifying tax-exempt-owner projects where you can substantiate your design responsibility and the construction-start records. Prior claims on the building and the allocation still available also matter, so we check both early.

Can multiple design firms be involved?

Yes, but the documented roles and the owner-authorized allocations have to reconcile. We organize the technical and administrative record so they do, without assuming every participant can claim the same amount.

What happens after the study is complete?

We deliver the engineering evidence and stay available for technical questions. Your tax advisor evaluates the claim and its filing treatment, and your project file should retain the allocation and the supporting records.

Let's look at the buildings you designed.

Tell us the building, who owns it, your firm's role on the project and when construction started.

Program and technical references

IRS: Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction

Program information reviewed September 22, 2026. Current applicability, qualifications and program terms are confirmed for each engagement.

Or call 321-273-2200 · inquiry@greensummit.com