Department of
Environmental Quality

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

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 wood stove if:

• it is in your residence,
• it replaces an old wood stove that does not meet EPA requirements,
• the purchase and replacement occurs within the same year, and
• the old wood stove 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 wood stove is replaced. Thereafter, you may deduct 20% of the cost of purchase and professional installation per year for the next three years. The total annual deduction cannot exceed $5,000.

Proof of Disposal

You receive proof via a receipt when you drop your old wood stove 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:

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 wood stoves. A common hearth fireplace is not considered a wood stove. Fireplace inserts may be considered wood stoves, 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 wood stove, 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 wood stoves are not reused. DEQ helps prevent the reuse of old wood stoves by managing the drop-off sites. Operators of DEQ-approved drop-off sites must agree to destroy the old wood stoves they collect. Destroyed stoves are typically recycled for scrap.

Approved Wood Stove Drop-Off Sites