If you have been thinking about doing some improvements to your home and want to take advantage of the tax credits here is what is happening right now.
For 2011 the home energy tax credit will be limited to 10% of the purchase price of energy efficient windows, doors and skylights up to a max of $500. Only $200 of that will be a credit toward the windows.
Other Improvements you can receive a tax credit for are the following:
- $300 for certain central air conditioning units
- $300 for an air souce heat pump
- $300 for an electric heat pump water heater
- $150 for certain natural gas, propane or oil furnaces
If you install several of the above improvements there is a limit on what you can claim, $500. If you received $500 credit or more last year on your tax return between 2006 and 2010 you will not be able to claim these at all this year.
As usual it can be very confusing to figure out if your energy efficient improvement applies so here are two sites where you can check the rules and the products. Tax Credit page at EnergyStar.gov or EnergyTaxIncentives.org.
If you have been considering installing a geothermal heat pump, solar water heater, solar panels, fuel cells and/or a small wind-energy systems and will not be using any of these items to heat a pool or hot tub,you can receive a credit worth 30% of the cost and installation of such improvements. There is no maximum value on this credit and you have until December 31, 2016, to place those items in service.
Now if you installed any energy efficient products last year and want to see if they qualify for last year's tax credit, here are two articles you can check out: Tax Credits for Going Green and Tax Breaks for Energy-Efficient Home Improvements. Tax credits in 2010 were worth30% of the cost of the improvement with a max of $1500.00. (if you did anything in 2009, you had to combine that year's max with 2010 max for a total of $1500).
April 15th is around the corner! Good Luck!
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