Gov. Matt Blunt today launched a new program to help Missouri families conserve energy and reduce their tax burden with certified home energy audits.
“Certified home energy audits will give Missouri families reliable guidance when it comes to energy use and waste reduction, saving money on overall energy costs as well as offering another tax break,” Gov. Blunt said. “Every effort to conserve energy and make environmentally-friendly choices has a positive impact on our future. As governor, I have worked to ensure that our generation leaves Missouri’s environment in better shape for our children and grandchildren with initiatives that are good for taxpayers and our air, land and
water.”
For the first time ever Missourians can now apply for formal certification as a home energy auditor. The certification process is the first step to providing Missouri families access to the new tax break. The Department of Natural Resources recently finalized certification requirements and guidelines and is accepting applications from Missourians who want to be certified as energy auditors under this new program.
Certification of home energy auditors was included in the new law to help ensure that residents receive the most up-to-date advice and recommendations on ways they can reduce their energy consumption. Missouri taxpayers who enlist the help of certified home energy auditors will be able to qualify for the deduction beginning with the 2009 tax year. The law allows taxpayers to deduct the costs of qualified home energy audits and related recommendations from their federal adjusted gross income.
More information and application forms are available through the Department of Natural Resources, www.dnr.mo.gov/energy/residential/homeenergyaudits.htm.
The law also enacted Gov. Blunt’s Show-Me Green Sales Tax Holiday,
pushing Missouri to the forefront of a national effort to encourage greater
energy efficiency. Missouri is just the fourth state after Florida, Connecticut,
and Virginia to place this forward-looking legislation into statute. The
holiday will start on April 19th and end on April 25th. All sales of Energy-Star
washers and dryers, water heaters, trash compactors, dishwashers, conventional
ovens, ranges, stoves, air conditioners, furnaces, refrigerators and freezers,
up to $1500, will be exempt from state sales tax between April 19th and April
25th.