ABATEMENT PROGRAMS
Home Renovation Tax Credit
The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) contained in Budget 2009 will provide a one-year, temporary 15% income tax credit on eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired between January 27, 2009 and February 1, 2010. The credit may be claimed on eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000 but no more than $10,000.
The HRTC can be claimed for renovations and enduring alterations to a dwelling, or the land on which it sits.
How the HRTC Will Work
The 15-per-cent credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000 but no more than $10,000, meaning that the maximum tax credit that can be received is $1,350.
The credit can be claimed on eligible expenditures incurred on one or more of an individual’s eligible dwellings. Properties eligible for the HRTC include houses, cottages and condominium units that are owned for personal use.
Renovation costs for projects such as finishing a basement or re-modeling a kitchen will be eligible for the credit, along with associated expenses such as building permits, professional services, equipment rentals and incidental expenses.
Routine repairs and maintenance will not qualify for the credit. Nor will the cost of purchasing furniture, appliances, audio-visual electronics or construction equipment.
Building permit requirements for small residential buildings: brochure (PDF)
SEVERAL WAYS TO CLAIM GOVERNMENT GRANTS
Feds and province offering incentives to renovate and make your home more energy efficient
Tracy Hanes
Toronto Star
If you’re thinking about renovating your home this year, the provincial and federal governments are prepared to through some incentives your way.
Planning on landscaping the year, renovating the bathroom or installing new hardwood floors? For these and many other home improvements, The Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) will provide a one year, 15 per cent tax credit.
If you are contemplating replacing your furnace, adding solar panels, beefing up your insulation or replacing leaky windows, the federal ecoENERGY program will provide rebates on a wide spectrum of energy efficient products and improvements, to a maximum of $ 5,000. That’s not all – the provinces will provide matching rebates under its Home Energy Retrofit program, so between the two programs, a homeowner can receive up to $ 10,000 in rebates.
Double dipping allowed: you can also claim those energy efficient improvements under the HRTC program.
That means Ontario homeowners can receive up to 4 11,350.00 for a single home improvement project.
HOME RENOVATION TAX CREDIT
The HRTC will provide a one-year temporary 15 per cent tax credit per family on eligible home renovation expenditure for work performed or goods acquired between Jan. 27, 2009 and Feb. 1, 2010. The credit kicks in after you spend $ 1,000, but no more than $ 10,000, making the maximum credit of
$ 1,350.
A wide range of projects are eligible, including kitchen , bathroom and basement renovations; new carpet or hardwood floors; adding a new furnace or water heater; interior or exterior painting; driveway resurfacing. You can also claim the credit for landscaping, new decks, fences, retaining walls and laying of new sod.
Not eligible are things such as furniture and appliance purchases, tools, carpet cleaning, maintenance contracts for furnace cleaning, snow removal and pool cleaning.
According to a recent survey released by the mortgage company ResMore Trust Co., 94 per cent of Canadian homeowners who are planning to do renovations between now and next February will use HRTC . In fact 39 per cent of 1,000 Canadians across the country surveyed by Research Now in early April said their decision to renovate was positively influenced by the introduction of the HRTC.
For information on the tax credit go to cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhmrnvtn-eng.html.
ECOENERGY AND HOME ENERGY RETROFIT PROGRAMS
While the HRTC applies to most home projects, the ecoENERGY and Ontario’s Home Energy Retrofit programs apply only to energy efficiency improvements. Ontario’s program matches the ecoENERGY program dollar for dollar up to $ 5,000 for a total of up to $ 10,000 per household.
Examples of improvements that qualify include adding a new energy efficient heating or cooling system, upgrading to an instantaneous hot water heater or energy efficient windows, or increasing insulation.
To be eligible for eco ENERGY program, a homeowner must have an energy efficiency audit done on his or her home, which costs $ 300 to $ 400 (the government provides a $ 150.00 rebate).
“The first step is to have an energy assessment done by an EnerCan Licensed auditor”, says Natural resources Canada media relations officer Jean Riverin. “If you start any renovations before the audit, you can’t submit the bill for a rebate.”
The energy efficient improvements must be done within 18months of the energy audit ( which is registered with NRC) and the cut-off is March 2011.
The renovator must document the aspects of the project that relate to increasing energy efficiency. Upon completion , a second audit (costing approximately $ 150 and not eligible for a rebate) determines that the work was done properly and scores the energy efficiency improvement. Then the grant application goes in and the homeowner will receive the federal rebate in about 90 days, says Riverin.
Handy owners can do the necessary improvements themselves, but it’s important to keep a copy of the invoices for the materials purchased for the upgrades, says Riverin, as they may be asked to submit copies. And homeowners are responsible for ensuring they obtain all necessary permits and meet all municipal and provincial building codes, he adds.
Recently, says Riverin, the federal government increase by 25 per cent the amount of rebates it gives on eligible improvements and the provincial government followed suit. While the maximum rebate is still
$ 5,000, the money available for specific items has increased.
Here are some examples:
- Replace your heating system and qualify for anywhere from $ 375 for an Energy Star gas furnace with an AFLUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) of 92 per cent or higher to $ 4,375 for a new or replacement earth energy system certified by the Canadian GeoExchange Coalition.
- Replacing an old air conditioning system with rated SEER 14.5 or higher will garner $ 1,250 in grants. A drain water heat recovery unit is eligible for $ 95 or $ 165, depending on its efficiency. Each Energy Star window you replace will get you $ 40; an Energy Star exterior door is eligible for the same rebate
- Some of the latest “green” technologies are included in the program. You can get back as much as $ 1,300 for a solar hot water heating system (estimated cost $ 4,000 to $ 8,000) between the federal and provincial grants and a provincial sales tax rebate offered on solar panels.
To find an energy auditor in your area or more about rebates, visit ecoaction.gc.ca/home or homeenergyontario.ca
