The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allows tax credits for energy efficiency improvements. Homeowners may claim up to 30% of the costs of all home-energy-related equipment purchased during the aggregate two-year period of 2009 and 2010, up to $1,500 total.

Tax credits for installations made in 2006 and 2007 are still limited to the previous law’s $500 provision. Purchases made in 2008 are not eligible for this tax credit. But, the legislation certainly makes new improvements more affordable. We’ve included a partial list of eligible improvements for your consideration. And, in a moment, we’ll tell you how a Home Energy TuneUp Inspection by House Exam can help you decide which improvements will save you the most in utility costs and give you the greatest comfort in your home.

Eligible Improvements
Owners of existing homes receive a tax credit worth 30% of the cost of upgrading the efficiency of their home. The following improvements are some of those eligible for the tax credit:
• Insulation materials and systems
• Exterior doors and windows (including skylights)
• Roofs (metal and asphalt)
• Electric heat pumps
• Central air conditioners
• Natural gas, propane or oil water heaters
• Natural gas, propane or oil furnace or hot water boilers
• Electric heat pump water heaters

Performance and quality standards for tax credit eligibility vary by technology. You should check out the Energy Star web site for detailed information on qualifying products.

What is a Tax Credit?
There is an important difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction. A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total tax liability. In other words, whatever tax you would have owed gets reduced directly by the specific amount of the tax credit. On the other hand, a tax deduction is subtracted from income before total tax liability is computed. Maybe you’ve heard the expression “tax bracket.” It simply reflects the percentage of cost of an expense that actually gets deducted from your income before taxes. Bottom line: a tax credit is much more advantageous to you at tax time than a deduction.

At House Exam, we are certified Inspectors for the Home Energy TuneuP program. With this “audit” we take a full inventory of all the energy related features within your home, upload the data and generate a Report which can give you a detailed list of energy-saving improvements you should consider. The Report will list recommended upgrades and improvements, give you fair-market estimates for the costs for each improvement, tell you how much each improvement will save you annually, and tell you how long it will take to PAY FOR the improvements with the projected energy saving.

The money you will save from just the free recommendations within the Report, will more than pay for the cost of the inspection. Call to schedule your Home Energy TuneuP Inspection, and start your energy savings this month.

Call (817) 797-2461