Homeowners rarely look forward to replacing their garage door, it’s not something exciting like a flat screen or new furniture for the living room. Fortunately with all of the new door styles available it can really improve the overall look of your home and add a tremendous amount of curb appeal. While visual appearance is very important there is much more to look at when picking out a new garage door.

On February 17th 2009 picking out a garage door got a little easier. On this day the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed and signed into law . How does this make finding a garage door easier you ask? This bill extends, amends and expands the tax credit for energy-efficient home improvements, such as overhead garage doors in existing homes for 2009 and 2010. The maximum amount of credit for all improvements combined has increased from $500 to $1,500 over the lifetime of the tax credit period (2009 and 2010). Keep in mind this is not a tax deduction it is a tax credit which is much better. A tax credit lowers your tax bill dollar for dollar. A deduction shaves money off your taxable income, so the value depends on your tax bracket. If you're in the 25% bracket, a $1,000 deduction lowers your tax bill by $250. But a $1,000 credit lowers the bill by the full $1,000, no matter which bracket you are in. When purchasing a new insulated garage door taxpayers receive a tax credit of 30 percent of the qualified energy-efficiency improvements installed during 2009 or 2010, up to $1,500. Cost of installation does not qualify.

The only thing needed to obtain the tax credit is a Manufacturer Certification provided by the garage door dealer, retailer or found on the manufacturer’s website and the dealer’s breakdown of the door cost and the cost of labor should be obtained by the homeowner. Copies should be kept for homeowner records, but do not need to be submitted with homeowner's federal tax return.


(Click for a list of Amarr garage doors that qualify for the Energy Tax Credit)


Here is a list of requirements that qualifies a garage door for the energy tax credit:

Residential garage doors that have a U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)of equal to or less than 0.30 qualify for this tax credit. Additional requirements are:
The garage door must be installed on an insulated garage (conditioned space).
The garage door must be part of the customer’s principal residence.
The garage door perimeter must have a means to control air infiltration.
The garage door must be installed in the years 2009 or 2010.
The garage door must be expected to remain in service for at least five years.
The garage door can not have windows.