Hi everyone and welcome back to Money Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Ritchie Life.

I'm Laura Adams. Considering going green in your home, there are new incentives for

homeowners that can make your living space more energy efficient and lower your

taxes.

The reason tax breaks are offered as incentives for purchasing state-of-the-art energy-efficient products,

such as heating and air conditioning systems and

exterior windows is because those products are expensive.

All that fancy technology comes at a price and boy did I learn about it firsthand last week.

The compressor for our downstairs air conditioner died which which is a real emergency when you live in Florida, even in December.

The newest green tax incentives are part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

That legislation expanded tax credits for expenses you incur to reduce the amount of energy

you use or to install alternative energy equipment.

There are two tax credits that apply to homeowners

who make energy efficient improvements to their primary residents located in the

United States.

They're called the non-business energy property credit and the residential energy efficient

property credit. Even though they sound similar, they're completely different tax benefits.

Let's cover the non-business energy property credit first. It applies to

certain improvements that average consumers might make to their existing homes, like energy

saving roofs, air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters, exterior

windows, skylights, doors, and insulation.

This credit existed previously, but it expired after 2007.

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