Are you finding ways to save money on your monthly utility bills? Here’s one way to yields huge savings without compromising the comfort you enjoy inside your home. By investing on an energy efficient air-conditioner system, you can maintain comfortable indoor temperature levels while cutting down your monthly energy consumption by 20 to 50 percent, which can be translated into a minimum of $14 savings to your monthly electric bills. Not only that. Using an energy efficient air conditioning system entitles you to receive a considerable amount of money out of tax credits. How’s that for a no-sweat solution to increasing your monthly income?
Tax credits simply reduce the tax you pay dollar-for-dollar. It is one effective way by which the government can effectively influence the behavior of its citizens. Under the provision of the Energy Policy Act 2005, tax credits were awarded to home owners who claim to use few energy saving items or appliances in their homes. Some of these energy-saving appliances and items include the windows, doors, roofing, water heater and the home air conditioner, which usually takes the larger chunk of a home’s energy consumption. In line with the government’s ongoing campaign to go-green, these tax credits only emphasize the need to drastically reduce the population’s energy consumption in the shortest possible time.
Now that we know that such form of tax credit exists, we first need to understand the true benefits of getting an energy efficient home air conditioner. Primarily, it lowers home energy bills while increasing the indoor comfort or your home. Also, with its more environment-friendly features, it produces near-zero levels of the noxious gases that are commonly associated with the older models of air conditioning units. Lastly, with the passage quoted from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), all homeowners who made energy-efficient upgrades and improvements to their homes in the tax years 2009 and 2010 will be awarded with significant savings. This recently approved federal income tax credits triples the total available tax credit from $500 to $1500. It also increases the tax credit to up to 30% of the total cost of a home’s energy-saving improvements.
So if you qualify for a tax credit, how much money can you actually save? With energy-efficient air conditioners, the given tax credits can be as much as $300. Eligible parties can get back as much as 30 percent of the total cost of the purchase and installation the air conditioning unit, with a total lifetime cup on the credit amount of $1,500. The tax credit can be awarded to home improvements costing as much as $5,000. In addition, eligible homeowners may also qualify for state rebates or state tax incentives.
Not all energy-efficient air conditioning units are eligible for a tax credit so be wary when choosing the air conditioning unit to install in your home. The units that qualify for tax credits must comply with the required specifications; energy efficiency ratio of 13.0 or higher, seasonal energy efficiency ratio of 15, and must be installed by a certified technician. Tax credits are not something that you instantly get. You need to fill up some forms that indicate your claim for the tax credit. With that, you need to consult with a tax professional to fully understand the procedure and benefits involved in installing energy efficient air conditioner in your home. It may involve tedious work but it certainly is a worthy investment for your home.
