Principal Issues: What home renovation projects are eligible for the new home renovation tax credit (HRTC)?
Position: Expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010, will qualify for the HRTC if they relate to a renovation or an alteration of an eligible dwelling and they are of an enduring nature and integral to the eligible dwelling.
Reasons: 2009 federal budget
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Dear XXXXXXXXXX :
The office of the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, forwarded to me a copy of your email, which I received on February 9, 2009, asking what home renovation projects are eligible for the new home renovation tax credit (HRTC).
Presently, there is no proposed legislation regarding the new HRTC, which was introduced in the federal budget tabled on January 27, 2009. However, the Honourable James M. Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced in Annex 5 of the budget documents that expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009, and before February 1, 2010, will qualify if they relate to a renovation or an alteration of an eligible dwelling, including land that forms part of the eligible dwelling, and the renovation or the alteration is of an enduring nature and is integral to the eligible dwelling. Such expenditures would include the cost of labour and professional services, building materials, fixtures, equipment rentals, and permits.
The following expenditures will be eligible for the HRTC:
- Renovating a kitchen, bathroom, or basement
- New carpet or hardwood floors
- Building an addition, deck, fence, or retaining wall
- Purchasing a new furnace or water heater
- Painting of the interior or the exterior of a house
- A new driveway or resurfacing a driveway
- Laying new sod
More information about the credit is available on the Canada Revenue Agency Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/hrtc and on the Department of Finance Canada Web site at www.budget.gc.ca/2009/pamphlet-depliant/pamphlet-depliant3-eng.asp and at www.budget.gc.ca/2009/plan/bpa5a-eng.asp#personal.
I trust that the information I have provided will be helpful.
Sincerely,
Jean-Pierre Blackburn, P.C., M.P.
Nancy Shea-Farrow
(905) 721-5226
2009-030958
February 18, 2009