On Jan 29, 8:39*am, Jules
wrote:
So, we went along and did US taxes yesterday evening (oh joy :-) *I
noticed that there were credits for various home energy-saving measures;
we claimed a few things such as new doors.

I was kind of surprised that they didn't want to know who made the doors,
or the name of a professional company who installed them etc. - all that
mattered was the receipt for the parts involved.

Does that mean in future I can homebrew my own solar heater or wind
turbine (both of which were on the list) and claim for the parts used? Or
for things like that do they in fact ask for a product name, company who
came and installed it etc.? *(I think for the doors it mattered that it
was energy-star approved, so maybe that's how they "get ya")

Curious, anyway - I might get around to making a solar pre-heater for the
water this year...

cheers

Jules

I too will be claiming an entry door and a couple of windows.

I can't speak to the reason they don't ask about the manufacturer, but
the installer wouldn't matter since you can't claim that cost anyway.

Sure you might argue that by knowing "the professional company who
installed them" they might assume that the door/window was installed
correctly and will actually save energy over the old one, but we
(including the IRS) all know that even the so-called "professionals"
can do a crappy job. Stop by my dad's house for a example of the
"professionals" doing it wrong.

By your question it appears that you don't think self installers
should be eligible for the credit. Maybe you didn't mean that, but
that's sort of how it sounds.

Besides, as with other deductions, such as how many shirts you say you
gave to the VOA, you don't need a stack of supporting documents
*unless you get audited*. As long as your return doesn't have any red
flags that would cause the computer to get curious about your figures,
they're going to let your return sail through the system. As long as
you stay within the national averages for your income level, they are
not going to be concerned with who made your door or how much you gave
to your favorite charity.