The kitchen is probably the most frequented room in your home, and if you are feeling frustrated every time you walk into it because it feels like you just went back in time, then it is time for a kitchen remodel.
Spring is the perfect season for giving your home a fresh start.
This process might begin on the inside, and could involve cleaning, organizing, interior painting, and rethinking decorations. It’s also nice to open a window or three and let the warm, refreshing air pour in.
On the other hand, how does the outside of your home look? A little springtime maintenance can go a long way toward preserving and beautifying your property, and it also will boost that important element of curb appeal.
I realize this is probably an odd time of year to talk about tax credits, but the summer months are the perfect time to talk about home renovations; and if we learn a little about tax deductions and tax credits along the way, it’s a good thing, right? Home renovation isn’t generally something that is tax deductible, but it can help minimize the amount of taxes that you pay. Some improvements may even qualify as medical expenses if they are deemed medically necessary. Let’s take a quick look at each of these categories.
*Please remember that I’m not a tax consultant. I’m simply passing along information that is readily available from the IRS website. None of this information should be taken as tax advice. That’s what your CPA is for; but I will help you design and implement your home improvements as needed.
Tax Credits for Home Improvement
The costs incurred in modifying your home for medical purposes may be deducted from your income as medical expenses. These renovations must be deemed medically necessary to qualify. Here are several examples:
Entrance or Exit Ramps – Immobility or impaired mobility require easier access to your home than steps or stairs.
Modifying the Bathroom – Impaired mobility creates problems for homeowners. They’re often faced with the option to either sell their home and move somewhere more accessible or make costly modifications on top of other medical expenses.
Lowering Cabinets – Kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and the bathroom vanity are often lowered to make life easier on people in wheelchairs, or those who may be reliant on a walker.
Widening Doors and Hallways – The average doorway and hallway are 36 inches wide. The average wheelchair clearance requirement is 32 inches wide. As you can see, this doesn’t leave much room for actual maneuverability.
Hand Rails – Adding hand rails near the toilet, shower, bath tub, and other areas where impaired mobility can cause problems helps the affected person maintain their independence.
The home improvement you implement must be deemed medically necessary in order to deduct it from your income as a medical expense. You can’t, for example, remodel your kitchen and claim it as medically necessary.
Many energy generation systems, upgraded appliances, windows, and doors are eligible for tax credits. Look for the Energy Star sticker on all major appliances to see how each one rates. You benefit doubly from upgrading the appliances in your kitchen during a kitchen remodel. New appliances are more energy efficient, so you can get the tax credit toward this year’s taxes and enjoy decreased energy bills for the life of the appliance. Win/Win.
As I stated above, I’m not a tax consultant. My primary goal for today’s blog was to make you aware of tax credits that you may be eligible for, and briefly describe them. Feel free to call my office to discuss more options for remodeling or modifying your home.
The heat is on! When everyone’s out vacationing, one of the best ways that smart homeowners do to make use of their time and money is investing them in a home improvement project. So that when the vacationers have had their time of fun under the sun and come home drained physically and financially, there you’ll be sitting pretty and lavishing at all the benefits. From renewed aesthetics, improved functionality and efficiency, better quality of everyday living, to boosted value for your New York home… all these and more can be enjoyed. So if you are thinking about summer home improvement, here are great tips ideal whether you are in Westchester County NY, or Fairfield County CT.
Home Maintenance
There’s no better time to evaluate the condition of your home and property than summer. This makes maintenance tasks another set of important home improvement projects to undertake this season. Here are common places to look into:
Remodel to Increase Living Space
Whether you plan to extend your living space sidewards, backwards, or upwards; there’s no better time to do such home improvement than on summer time. As most home addition projects require temporarily opening up a portion of the house, these are ideally done when the weather is least wet to avoid delays as well as water and moisture issues. One project worth considering is extending a part of the house to give way to a sunroom. With this, the family can enjoy all the beauty that the every season brings without having to endure the discomforts of the outdoors.
