Energy Tax Credits for Homeowners: What You Need to Know

If you make energy efficient upgrades in your home, you can claim homeowner energy tax credits. Learn more about these energy tax credits here.

The IRS encourages taxpayers to make energy efficient upgrades by offering energy tax credits. If you make energy efficient upgrades in your home such as home insulation, windows and doors upgrade, roof upgrade and more, you may be eligible for energy tax credit come tax season. To help you learn more about homeowner energy tax credits, here is everything you need to know.

Energy Tax Credits for Homeowners You Can Claim

• Windows and Doors Upgrades

If you have made upgrades in your home to improve energy efficiency, you can rest assured that you can claim energy tax credit. If you upgrade your windows to more advanced ones that meet Energy Star standards, you will be eligible for energy efficient windows tax deduction. The maximum you can get is $200, but for door upgrades, you can claim up to $500.

• Roof Upgrade

An upgrade of your roof to asphalt and metal roof, can help you get an energy tax credit for homeowners. However, the roofing must meet Energy Star standards. Asphalt roofs and metal roofs with pigmented coatings qualify for this tax credit, and you can claim up to $500 for the roof upgrade.

• Home Insulation

If you have the right home insulation, you can save big on energy. For that reason, IRS allows you to claim a tax credit for home insulation upgrade. If the upgrade reduces air loss or weather stripping, and materials used meet Energy Star standards, you can claim a tax credit of a maximum of $500.

• Wind Turbines and Geothermal Heat Pumps

These two energy efficient investments can help you significantly cut your energy bills. You can claim energy tax credit for the investments, and believe it or not, you can claim back 30% of the total cost of the upgrade.

• Other energy efficient upgrades

Other products such as heat pumps, AC and ventilation can also qualify for energy tax credit for homeowners. You will find that heat pumps and ACs have a tax credit worth $300. There are others such as furnaces, biomass stoves, non-solar water heaters, among others that also qualify for the tax credit.

How to Know Which Energy Tax Credits You Qualify for?

As you have seen there are many energy tax credits you may qualify for. You may need to talk with a tax expert to tell you what you qualify for based on your home energy efficient upgrades. However, you don’t have to do that. You just need to use TurboTax or H&R Block, and you will know the energy tax credits you qualify for and their worth.

How to Claim Energy Tax Credits?

Come tax time, you will have a chance to claim energy tax credits you are eligible for. It’s better to file your taxes online, and that will make it easier to include all your tax credits and deductions you qualify for. Therefore, use H&R Block or TurboTax when filing your taxes returns, and you will realize the difference.