Save on Energy-Efficient Equipment
We have this need to continually look for ways to improve our household. To keep our homes efficient and safe, we spend thousands of dollars on equipment and certain electrical appliances. Although these are definitely great investments, we can’t help it if we sometimes question if it’s really a wise decision to spend all that money. But is there is an incentive and you’ll save money…the government is hoping you will make the upgrades.
Making energy-efficient upgrades to your heating system could land you a tax break, if you act by the end of the year.
Personal Tax Credit
This thread of doubt is one of the reasons that other people haven’t been fully convinced to make the necessary investments to improve their homes. The government through the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a personal tax credit applicable to the homes that were able to purchase equipment for energy-efficiency. The original tax credit expired by the end of 2011 and was renewed on January 1,, 2012 as the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. This act would be valid for another year and will thereby expire on the 31st of December 2013. This means that the only eligible equipment are those installed between this time frame.
Guidelines Set by the IRS
There are specific categories set by the IRS with various equipment listed under each category. These include: Insulation materials, exterior doors and windows (including the installation of skylights) and pigmented metal roofs. Listed along these are heating, cooling and water-heating equipment such as electric heat pumps, biomass stoves, and many others. Each item listed has an equivalent rebate amount with an aggregate amount credit limited to a maximum of $500.
All you need to do is list down all the appliances that you have that fall in any of the given categories, look up its equivalent amount, prepare any supporting documents required by the IRS, and claim your tax credit. But it is important to take note that if you have already claimed the amount of $500 the previous year, then you are no longer eligible to claim the tax credit again this year.
So it’s basically a win-win situation; you get to make your household safe, and at the same time you get to save money. The government has been considerate enough to extend this opportunity to us. So if you don’t already have this helpful equipment in your home, now is definitely a good time to go ahead and get one installed!