Invest in Your Home Renovations and Be Eligible to Receive up to $1,350 in Tax Relief

Screenshot: Canada's Economic Action Plan:
The Home Renovation Tax Credit: PDF Version Pamphlet
Credit: Department of Finance Canada

We at the Wo-Built are taking every chance we get to let our customers know about a new Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC).

The Home Renovation Tax Credit 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.

How the HRTC Will Work

The 15-per-cent credit may be claimed on the portion of eligible expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not 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-modelling 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.

Who Can Claim the HRTC?

About 4.6 million families in Canada are expected to benefit from the credit.

Taxpayers can claim the HRTC when filing their 2009 tax return.

Eligibility for the HRTC will be family-based. For the purpose of the credit, a family is generally considered to consist of an individual, and where applicable, the individual’s spouse or common-law partner.

Family members will be able to share the credit.

Examples of HRTC Eligible and Ineligible Expenditures

Eligible

1. Renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement
2. New carpet or hardwood floors
3. Building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall
4. A new furnace or water heater
5. Painting the interior or exterior of a house
6. Resurfacing a driveway
7. Laying new sod

Ineligible

1. Furniture and appliances (refrigerator, stove, couch)
2. Purchase of tools
3. Carpet cleaning
4. Maintenance contracts (furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, pool cleaning, etc.)

Information on the Home Renovation Tax Credit is available on Canada Revenue Agency’s website at : http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/bdgt/2009/fqhmrnvtn-eng.html


links:
Office of the Prime Minister: Harper Government's new Home Renovation Tax Credit to take effect today
28 January 2009
Google Blog Search: "home renovation tax credit"
Google News Search: "home renovation tax credit"
blog.homerenovationguide.com: Federal Tax Break for Home Renovation?