If you have made additions to your home to make your home accessible to a member of your household with a disability and you do not make more than $55,000 in a year, you may be able to get a state income tax credit. The addition must meet the local building standards for accessibility. You will need to prove this to the Maine State Housing Authority. This tax credit is worth $9,000 or the “applicable percentage of the qualified expenditures,” whichever is less.
The “applicable percentage of qualified expenditures” is determined by looking at your income and the amount you spent on the addition. This table shows what the percent is for each income bracket:
Yearly Income |
Percent |
$0-$25,000 |
100% |
$25,000-$30,000 |
90% |
$30,000-$35,000 |
80% |
$35,000-$40,000 |
70% |
$40,000-$45,000 |
60% |
$45,000-$55,000 |
50% |
For example, if you make less than $25,000 per year and you spent $8,000 on making your home accessible, you can get a tax credit of $8,000. However, if you make $27,000 per year and spent $8,000 on improvements, you would only get $7,200.
You have to apply for the tax credit the year you do the improvements. If you do not use all of the tax credit, the remaining portion can carry over for up to four years. MSHA will have an application available beginning January 2017. They don't have this posted online yet, but you can still contact MSHA to ask about the application.
January, 2017