The Dual Benefits of Insulating and Improving Your Home in 2009 and 2010

Insulating and upgrading your home's heating, air conditioning and other energy using appliances is always beneficial. For the 2009 and 2010 tax years a homeowner can receive a dual benefit. Energy credits and residential energy efficiency credit limits are raised for these tax years.

This is a great time to add extra insulation to your home. Increasing your R rating of your insulation will result in less heat loss during winter and keep your home cooler during summer months. You can also receive a tax credit for ten percent of your insulating costs up to $500 on your Federal tax return.

Heating and cooling your home can account for fifty to seventy percent of the energy costs of your home. Adding insulation, replacing old caulking, and replacing inefficient doors and windows will reduce your home energy costs and you can receive credit on your tax return to help pay for these items.

Some of the easiest and least expensive improvements can come from reducing drafts in your home. Check around doors and windows for leaks. You can use a candle or just feel for areas of cold or hot air entering your home. Remove and replace old caulk on the inside and/or outside of windows. Add new weather stripping around doors. If you have glass windows in exterior doors you should check for leaks in these areas as well. If you have an attic, check your insulation there. Adding additional insulation in most attics is not difficult.

If you install energy-efficient windows, insulation, doors and other items you can receive a tax credit of thirty percent of the costs up to $1,500 for these improvements. Qualifying items must be placed in service from January 1^st, 2009 to December 31^st, 2010. This gives a homeowner two years to improve their homes efficiency.

If you install renewable energy items like solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps or wind systems for energy generation you can receive a 30 percent tax credit for systems put into use before December 31^st, 2016. The previous tax cap on this no longer applies. Tax credits are non-refundable but with many of the credits for energy improvements, the unused portions can be carried over to the next tax year until the full amount of credit has been used.

Make the most out of the tax credits for energy efficiency that are available. Most times improvements that you make for your homes' energy use will pay for themselves in energy savings but now the federal government is willing to help you pay for your improvements.

References:　

http://www.energy.gov/recovery/taxbreaks.htm

http://www.prweb.com/releases/tax/credit/prweb1828084.htm