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Green Tax Breaks, and a Government Site Named DSIRE
Next year, homeowners will qualify for credits for installing top-efficiency energy systems.
(Standard Solar)
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For solar water heaters (except those used for swimming pools) homeowners can get a tax credit covering 30 percent of the cost, up to $2,000. Investments in electricity-generating solar panels can garner a tax credit for 30 percent of the cost, without any cap. High-efficiency fuel cells may qualify for a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, with a cap of $1,000 per kilowatt hour that can be produced.
Richard Deutschmann, a vice president of Chesapeake Solar in Jessup, said the typical home in the Washington area, if it has a roof facing the sunny south, uses a 3-kilowatt solar panel system that costs about $25,000 to $30,000 installed and generates about 350 kilowatt hours per month. Homes with solar panels still remain connected to the electricity grid. They can buy power from it when it's dark or cloudy and can sell their surplus power back into the grid.
Such a system could also generate a federal tax credit in the $7,500 to $9,000 range. With the help of tax credits, the payback period -- when your electricity savings have outpaced the initial investment -- can be well under 10 years, Deutschmann said.
Depending on where you live and on the availability of funds, state and county programs may offer rebates, too. You can learn more about those programs at http:/
D.C. First-Time-Buyer Tax Credit
The $5,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers in the District is officially back in business, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008, and running through the end of 2009. It's the latest turn in a long history of tax-credit expiration and last-minute resuscitation, which leaves buyers guessing whether they really will get the home-buying incentive. The latest renewal was tucked into the financial rescue bill signed into law earlier this month.
The tax credit is designed to entice people to move into the District, so the definition of first-time buyer is unusually broad. People who have owned a home elsewhere may qualify if they buy and relocate -- for the first time -- to a primary home in the District.
The credit is available to buyers with modified adjusted gross incomes of up to $90,000, or $130,000 for couples filing jointly, but the size of the credit starts to shrink once income hits $70,000 for singles or $110,000 for couples. To claim the credit, use IRS Form 8859, available from http:/
E-mail Elizabeth Razzi atrazzie@washpost.com.
