Department of
Environmental Quality

Woodstove Replacements and Tax Deductions

DEQ's statewide woodstove program encourages the use of cleaner-burning woodstoves. It is designed to help homeowners burn more efficiently and create less pollution. Idaho offers taxpayers who buy new woodstoves, pellet stoves, or natural gas or propane heating units for their residences a tax deduction to replace old, uncertified woodstoves.

Conditions to Receive a Tax Deduction

You can deduct the cost of a new natural gas or propane heating unit, pellet stove, or EPA-certified woodstove if these conditions are met:

• It is in your residence.
• It replaces an old woodstove that does not meet EPA requirements.
• The purchase and replacement occurs within the same year.
• The old woodstove is dropped off at a DEQ-approved site within 30 days.

How Much is the Tax Deduction?

You can deduct 40% of the cost of purchase and professional installation in the year the woodstove is replaced. Thereafter, you may deduct 20% of the cost of purchase and professional installation per year for the next 3 years. The total annual deduction cannot exceed $5,000.

Proof of Disposal

You receive proof via a receipt when you drop your old woodstove off at a DEQ-approved site. (The fire-brick lining must be removed before drop-off.) Notify the drop-off site attendant that you are participating in the tax-deduction program and ask for a DEQ receipt. Fill out pertinent information and have the attendant sign the completed form. Your copy of the tax receipt should be kept with your tax records. Send the remaining top copy to the following:

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Air Quality Division
Wood Smoke Program
1410 N. Hilton
Boise, ID 83706

Are Fireplaces Included?

No, the tax deduction applies only to the replacement of uncertified woodstoves. A common hearth fireplace is not considered a woodstove. Fireplace inserts may be considered woodstoves, however. Therefore, the tax deduction applies if an old fireplace insert is replaced with another that meets current EPA standards. The deduction also applies if a fireplace insert is removed and replaced with a certified woodstove, pellet stove, a gas/propane appliance, or other eligible heating device.

Why Does DEQ Approve Drop-Off Locations?

Idaho law requires DEQ to verify that old woodstoves are not reused. DEQ helps prevent the reuse of old woodstoves by managing the drop-off sites. Operators of DEQ-approved drop-off sites must agree to destroy the old woodstoves they collect. Destroyed stoves are typically recycled for scrap.

Approved Woodstove Drop-Off Sites