13 Lawmakers Seek Clarity on HVAC Definition for Expensing Purposes

August 9, 2018

The Honorable Steve Mnuchin
Secretary
U.S. Department of Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

Dear Secretary Mnuchin:

As you know, last year's historic tax reform has unleashed the growth and competitiveness of American businesses and will continue to do so for years to come. A particularly pro-growth portion of the bill is the expansion of full and immediate expensing of capital investments. Reducing the use of burdensome depreciation schedules and the bias against investment will help businesses grow and boost our economy.

We are writing to encourage you to provide needed guidance that will ensure businesses can take advantage of the newly modified Section 179 expensing provision. Specifically, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a provision intended to allow heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment to be immediately expensed in the same way as roofs or other components of a building. However, the term HVAC can mean a number of things depending on how broadly it is defined. We ask that the Department of Treasury provide clarity on the definition by referencing language included in the House version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which cited ASHRAE 90.1-2007 or subsequent standards as the scope of intended products to be covered under the term HVAC.

Across the country, everyday Americans, including our manufacturers, distributors, and consumers of HVAC equipment, are experiencing the benefits of the bold, pro-growth tax reform package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump. The specificity of this scoping language would provide much needed certainty so that commercial businesses are able to utilize the expensing provision as intended. We look forward to working with you to ensure the expanded expensing provision from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act works to grow our economy even more.

Warren Davidson
Member of Congress

Andy Barr
Member of Congress

Mark Meadows
Member of Congress

Lou Barletta
Member of Congress

Daniel Webster
Member of Congress

Kevin Cramer
Member of Congress

Steve Stivers
Member of Contress

Louie Gohmert
Member of Congress

Tom MacArthur
Member of Congress

Jim Jordan
Member of Congress

Randy Weber
Member of Congress

Rick Crawford
Member of Congress

Evan Jenkins
Member of Congress

Cc:
Drew Maloney, Department of Treasury
Bradley Bailey, Department of Treasury