News · Colorado

Google’s AI Overview misstates Colorado’s 2025 heat pump credit as $1,250; the official table says $1,500

By Ionel Glogoveanu, editor. Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown.

Published October 2, 2026. Facts read on the official source on October 2, 2026.

For “colorado heat pump tax credit”, the AI Overview on October 2 invented a 2025 step of $1,250. The Colorado Energy Office lists $1,500 for 2024–2025, $1,000 for 2026.

On October 2, 2026, the Google AI Overview shown for the search “colorado heat pump tax credit” summarised the state credit correctly in most respects: $1,000 for an air-source heat pump installed in 2026, $2,000 for ground-, water- or combined-source systems, $250 for a heat pump water heater, delivered as a discount of at least a third on the installer’s invoice, with no income limit and no paperwork for the customer. It also noted, correctly, that the federal 25C credit expired on December 31, 2025.

One line was wrong. Citing a contractor directory, the Overview said the credit “stepped down from previous years ($1,500 in 2024; $1,250 in 2025; $1,000 in 2026)”. The Colorado Energy Office’s heat pump tax credit page publishes the expired 2024–2025 table: $1,500 for air-source, $3,000 for ground-, water- or combined-source and $500 for a water heater, with minimum customer discounts of $499.95, $999.90 and $166.65. There was no $1,250 year.

Two other Overview claims — that a system must cover at least 80% of annual heating needs, and that the credit is limited to one per residential address — are not stated on the page we read; we neither confirm nor deny them here and point readers to the registered-contractor rules and the Department of Revenue form, DR 1322, instead. This is the second AI Overview error we have logged; the first concerned Chelan County PUD’s efficiency minimums in Washington.

What this means for you

If you installed in 2025, the registered contractor claimed $1,500 (air-source) and owed you at least $499.95 as a discount — not a figure derived from $1,250. For 2026 installations the credit is $1,000 and the minimum discount $333; the amounts decrease again in tax year 2029. Check the discount line on your invoice against the official table, not against a search summary.