tax refund!

regency said:

I have been finishing my basement and should be able to claim the insullation as well as my insert, can I claim the drywall as it does have an "R" value?

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I don't have the link saved on this computer, but I remember reading wording that said the primary purpose of the material must be insulating. The studs have R-value, vinyl siding & paint have some nominal R-value too, but that stuff isn't what the credit is intended to cover. I'd be very cautious about claiming drywall as insulation lest you invite an audit.

Augustine said:

tiber said:

FYI turbotax will miss excemptions despite going through the entire process. They got my homebuyer credit but missed the deduction for my new baby. (rolling eyes).

Just be sure to go back before printing and filing and MANUALLY go through each page.

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....And that is the value of having a professional doing your taxes. For the modest fee they charge, the price of NOT employing one can cost you $$$. A good adviser is worth the cost of doing business.

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I really loved TurboTax a couple of years ago when it came up with the exact same deduction total whether I itemized or not, and that total was neither the standard deduction nor the itemized deduction total, but a value in between! Yikes. Nothing I did could sway it from this incorrect value until I started all over again and just didn't put any itemized info in (the standard deduction turned out to be best when I did it all by hand in order to decide which way to go).

Just had my taxes done today, and got the credit for my new Oslo and all the stuff I bought to facilitate the installation. Sweet.

I don't think you provide details when you file your return ("lest you invite an audit"). The problem occurs when you are audited (for whatever reason) and you are claiming expenses that don't qualify (perhaps drywall, I really don't know).

Personally, I've never been audited, but then again I haven't ever taken a deduction that I had any doubts about. Some might say I'm probably overpaying my taxes, but I consider it: 1) a cheap way to sleep soundly, and 2) okay to pay taxes (I'm probably helping offset those who fudge).

TurboTax completely skipped by the energy tax credit for my wood stove. I had to go find it and the closest category I could find was titled: "Natural gas, propane, or oil furnace or oil hot water boiler" I hope this was the right place to enter it....no mention of wood stove anywhere that I could find. It did give me the $1,500 back so hopefully I entered it in the right place.

devinsdad said:

I did the turbo tax thing. Couldn't find what could be included besides stove so I claimed EVERYTHING. I plead Geitner. ;-P

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As I understand it the stove, installation fee, and 'everything' is included. I had my stove professionally installed, and plan to apply the full installation and materials fee to the tax credit. in other words, the full $1800 I paid for the stove, O.A.K., and labor x 30% = my tax credit. The installation fee included stuff like an Outside Air kit, a little bit of stove pipe. I don't see why a hearth or refinishing walls that had to be disturbed for the installation wouldn't count. it is all part of the work and materials required to safely use the new energy saving appliance.

Wood Duck said:

devinsdad said:

I did the turbo tax thing. Couldn't find what could be included besides stove so I claimed EVERYTHING. I plead Geitner. ;-P

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As I understand it the stove, installation fee, and 'everything' is included. I had my stove professionally installed, and plan to apply the full installation and materials fee to the tax credit. in other words, the full $1800 I paid for the stove, O.A.K., and labor x 30% = my tax credit. The installation fee included stuff like an Outside Air kit, a little bit of stove pipe. I don't see why a hearth or refinishing walls that had to be disturbed for the installation wouldn't count. it is all part of the work and materials required to safely use the new energy saving appliance.

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I did some remodel work prior to professional installation, including tile for the hearth area (needed for safe installation), and as I recall it can not be claimed as part of the energy tax credit. I don't remember where I read that but I would do some more checking on that before claiming it. My stove, piping, and installation was over 5K so I didn't have to worry about claiming other related costs.

Wood Duck said:

devinsdad said:

I did the turbo tax thing. Couldn't find what could be included besides stove so I claimed EVERYTHING. I plead Geitner. ;-P

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As I understand it the stove, installation fee, and 'everything' is included. I had my stove professionally installed, and plan to apply the full installation and materials fee to the tax credit. in other words, the full $1800 I paid for the stove, O.A.K., and labor x 30% = my tax credit. The installation fee included stuff like an Outside Air kit, a little bit of stove pipe.

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Interesting, my dealer told me the tax credit applied to all costs EXCEPT the installation fee.

From the energystar website:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index

I’m buying a new product that qualifies for the tax credit. How do I know which components associated with it are also eligible for the credit? For example, for a qualified roof, would the nuts & bolts, and gutterbe included? For a biomass stove, would the hearth, stovepipe, and chimney be included?

IRS has not issued specific written guidance on this question.

The rule of thumb that has become informal IRS guidance is that if the component is a critical piece of the product's energy efficiency then it is covered, but if it’s the same component that you would use on a non-qualified product (a regular roof), then it would not be covered.

The following products are probably not covered by the tax credit:

* nuts & bolts, and gutter for a new roof
* hearth, stovepipe or chimney for a biomass stove
* new ducts for an air conditioner or furnace

You can also contact the IRS directly: www.irs.gov/contact

It WAS my understanding that stovepipe and installation were included....now I'm not so sure :question:

pen said:

BrotherBart said:

And they prove the other guy ever used it just how?

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Thanks!

pen

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My dad always said "I see said the blind man when he picked up his hamer and saw"

MinnesotaGuy said:

It WAS my understanding that stovepipe and installation were included....now I'm not so sure :question:

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Regarding installation - this is from the IRS form 5695: "Also include on lines 3a through 3c any labor costs properly allocable to the onsite preparation, assembly, or original installation of the property."

I did mine last year via turbo tax and the form was there and very easy to find.