Want to upgrade your IT program — and make it green — but your budget is a problem? The feds have an offer you can’t (easily) refuse.

Seems everywhere you turn, the future of IT is in Green IT — new computer equipment that saves your company money because it’s so much more energy efficient. You use less energy, you save money, and you help the planet by helping reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and other air pollutants.

As it turns out, the federal stimulus law gives businesses a variety of tax breaks that increase expense and bonus depreciation limits. Green IT investments are included.

But you’ll have to act quickly. Most of the tax breaks for new equipment under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are for purchases made in 2009. That was the point of the stimulus, to get money flowing as soon as possible.

The Internal Revenue Service tax breaks boil down to three basics:

• It’s easier to get full credit for relatively inexpensive purchases on your next tax return because the IRS has increased the limit for Section 179 expenses
• You can get a 50% tax deduction for more expensive equipment known as “qualified property” that’s placed in service this year, and
• You can get tax credits for recent years when you’ve lost money and use them to discount tax bills in future years when you’re making profits (under a process known as net operating loss carry-backs).

All the gory details that will keep accountants busy this year are detailed on the IRS Web site. Click here for the breakdown.

The IRS also offers a wide variety of tax credits for clean and renewable energy investments. Click here.

Tags: Green IT, IRS, qualified property, Section 179