Submitted by Taylen Peterson

While there are already several federal tax cuts and credits in place for homeowners to take advantage of in their efforts to go green, President Obama has added a few more under his new stimulus package. The good news is that the current cap on tax credits for energy efficient home improvements has risen to $1500 for the period of 2009-2010. The not so great news is that, at least in the windows category, the requirements for receiving that credit have gotten more strict. The new law stipulates that new energy efficient windows must be purchased and installed between the dates of February 17, 2009 and December 31, 2010 - there is no information as of yet as to what tax benefit, if any, will be received by homeowners who purchased their windows from January 1 to February 16. Also, the definition of a qualifying energy efficiency window has changed. The current mandate is that, in order to get your tax credit, the windows must have a U-factor (the measurement of how much indoor heat is lost through a window) AND a solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) (the amount of solar warmth that a window lets in or absorbs) of less than or equal to .30. The problem with this is that the previous norm in the window manufacturing industry was to create windows with an energy efficiency of anywhere from a .28 to a .32. This means that manufacturers who have been marketing their products as “energy efficient” may not be producing windows that will qualify for the tax credit. So how will you know the difference between a regular old energy efficient window and one that qualifies for Obama’s tax credit? The best way is to specifically ask the company selling the windows what the U-factor and SHGC are for the windows you are considering or to have them provide you with a copy of the manufacturer’s certification statement before you make a purchase. And that’s not all. After finding the proper windows and having them installed, there’s still a bit of paperwork on your part that will need to be done in order to receive your tax credit (which, by the way, is defined as 30% of the purchase price of the windows). A federal IRS tax form 5695 (version 2009) will need to be included with your taxes along with a copy of your receipt(s) and the manufacturer’s certification statement. Although they’re not making it any easier to whittle down the amount of taxes you’ll have to pay Uncle Sam, the benefits are there, and they’re getting more and more worthwhile, just be careful to do your homework first and follow the rules.