Remembering to turn the lights on Earth Day can help draw attention on energy consumption and commitments to be responsible consumers, but it's not where it ends. If you want to make a permanent difference in the amount of energy you use on a daily basis, it's time to take a serious look at your home. There are a variety of home improvements for energy savings you can do to help increase energy efficiency and reduce your carbon footprint
But if you are worried about how the cost of these projects can influence your piggybank -. There is good news! Two different energy credits are available to homeowners to help reduce this dollar amount.
Non-Business Energy Property Credit
Are you looking to upgrade insulation, windows, doors or the roof of your house? If so, you may qualify for a tax credit for up to 10 percent of the amount you paid or incurred for the improvement of qualified energy installed during the year. This also applies to the cost of residential energy property.
However, there are some key points to know. Credit is available only for those who did not claim energy credits at home over $ 500 in previous years. Any credit amount that was received after 05 must be subtracted from "life" $ 500 credit cap
In this credit limit, there are several limitations on individual items :.
- Windows: $ 0
- Furnace circulation fan: $ 50
- Natural gas, propane, furnace or boiler: $ 150
- All costs of residential single energy property: $ 300
residential energy Efficient property credit
If you make improvements to energy saving to an existing home or one that is currently under construction, you might be able to hang up to 30 percent return on your cost of any qualified property. This includes alternative energy equipment such as solar power systems, fuel cells, small wind energy systems and geothermal heat pumps. Make sure you take a look at the manufacturer's certification to ensure the product is eligible for the credit.
In addition, there is no limit to the amount of credit you can take. If you can not use all the credit this fiscal year because your income taxes are lower than the credit amount, you can carry the unused portion forward to the following year.
How to claim energy credits
to claim any of these tax credits, you must complete Form 5696 credits 'residential energy . Be sure to keep receipts of your purchases in a safe place until you are ready to tackle the tax filing phase.
And, to make it easy, enter all cost information you have on eligible purchases in TaxAct. The program will calculate the credit for you and automatically report the amount on Form 5696. No sweat, no hassle.
If these credits may expire
Although the credits were extended regularly, they may not be there forever . Currently both are set to expire at the end of 2016.
additional opportunities to save
In addition to the energy credits at home, a variety of other tax breaks and deductions are available to homeowners. Several government agencies and utilities offer incentives "green". Check Department of Energy of the United States to see what additional power saving benefits may be available in your state.
What improvements have you made to increase energy efficiency of your home?
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