Making your home more energy efficient is more affordable with government help.
Making a home energy efficient can be done with help from federally approved stimulus packages to offset costs. However, it is important to note that the stimulus money is not available until after you have fronted the cost of the items initially. You can do this on credit, if need be, and then use stimulus money to pay the bills after the fact. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Consider which items in your home you would like to upgrade. The 2009 and 2010 tax credits are applicable for biomass stoves, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, insulation, roofs, water heaters, windows, doors and renewable-energy alternatives like geothermal heat pumps and small wind turbines. Items not connected to renewable energy sources qualify for 30 percent of the total cost with a cap of $1,500. Renewable-energy sources qualify for a stimulus of 30 percent of the cost with no cap and are valid through 2016.
2. Price the items to upgrade. Visit local home improvement stores to obtain costs for materials. You can take the non-renewable tax credit for one or more items providing they meet energy star guidelines and providing the item is installed for the current tax year. The same is true of renewable-energy items inasmuch as you cannot file for the credit during the same year that the item was purchased and installed. Create a budget based on the initial costs.
3. Install the items, or have them installed, depending on your skill level and budget. Retain invoices and receipts for tax purposes. This will vary greatly depending on how many upgrades you have chosen and the amount of labor to install all items.
4. File your IRS 1040 form and attach IRS form 5695. On this form, calculate your tax credit for the items you installed. When filing your tax return, include copies of the receipts for the items you had installed and submit the package to the Internal Revenue Service. It can take as long as eight weeks to receive your stimulus payment.
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