From my reading of the tax credit you not only need to purchase a qualified product; but need to have it installed prior to December 31. I don’t plan on having a contractor install attic insulation or the bay window I’m planning on getting. How do I go about “proving” that it got installed this year?
Read the paperwork, including all the fine print.
For instance, on the state appliance credit that we just got, we could have self-certified that the old appliance had been properly disposed of. (We didn’t have time, so we just paid the store to haul it off.)
I suspect that they would look at those more closely, so be sure you know exactly how it works and that you’ve done everything properly.
Take a picture? Wouldn’t the default position be that you in fact had it installed, and proving otherwise would be up to the tax man?
Not sure that would help; what if I bought my bay window on Decemebr 31st as Home Depot was closing. Could I take pictures of it installed on Janauary 2nd and still get the credit?
IANA accountant but..
My WAG is its about creating a legally definable event. The invoice from the contractor is such a documented event. Many of such credits are the amount they are under the assumption that it WILL BE professionally installed.
This also avoids someone taking pictures of their attic and giving copies of the pics and receipts to 83 friends who then all claim the credit.
From the Energystar website:
The cost of installation for windows and insulation isn’t creditable; therefore I don’t know why the IRS would question you or even care. Then again I’m in Canada, and from all indications the IRS is not as amenable as Revenue Canada.
It’s not about getting credit for the cost of installation; it’s about certain vauge requirements of the object being placed into service during the timeframe of the tax credit. You could easliy buy something and never install it; where is the engery savings to the US taxpayers for that?
If a contractor does the install you could get documentation that it was put into service on such and such a date. If you install it yourself how do you prove that you used $$4800 worth of caulk on your privite residance that year and did not just get it cheap (by getting $1500 back from the goverment) and resell it later? Where is the fraud prevention if I’m not required to document the install? How do I document the install?