We got new windows installed on our home. Some were put in at the end of 2022 and they finished at the beginning of 2023. I was going to claim them last year but I read where the credit would be a lot higher if I waited. Last year I would have gotten $200 and when I put in the credit this year, it says I would get 0. Does anyone understand this or know why we would get 0 this year when we got the full amount the year before? Now I'm kicking myself for not claiming them last year. Our income was less in 2023 than 2022.
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No. The Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Credit is not able to be carried forward. So, it is a use it or lose it credit.
"Under the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit: a taxpayer may not carry the credit forward. Thus, if a taxpayer does not have sufficient tax liability to claim all or a portion of the credit in the year in which the related property for which the qualifying expenditure is placed in service, the unused amount of the credit may never be claimed."
There was a change for the 2023 tax return in the energy tax credit related to installing energy saving windows. The maximum credit allowed was increased. You would claim the credit in the year that the installation was completed. If the windows that were installed in 2022 and 2023 were all a part of the same job, then it should be claimed on your 2023 tax return.
The only reason that comes to mind with regard to not being able to claim the credit on your 2023 tax return is that perhaps your income tax liability was already reduced to zero or was too low to get the full energy credit since you mentioned that your income was less in 2023 than 2022. If that is the case, the credit will be carried over to a future tax year.
To learn more, take a look at the following TurboTax article:
Energy Tax Credit: Which Home Improvements Qualify?
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You are probably right on the no tax liability since our only income this year was social security. My husband will have to start taking out of his IRA at the end of this year so we will owe more taxes for 2024 when we file next year. Will this carry over to next year when we owe a lot more taxes? I appreciate your help!
No. The Home Energy Efficiency Improvement Credit is not able to be carried forward. So, it is a use it or lose it credit.
"Under the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit: a taxpayer may not carry the credit forward. Thus, if a taxpayer does not have sufficient tax liability to claim all or a portion of the credit in the year in which the related property for which the qualifying expenditure is placed in service, the unused amount of the credit may never be claimed."
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