As we know all too well, renovating a home can be extremely costly, not to mention a stressful and time-consuming process. Not everyone is able to spend the necessary funds on projects they may want or need to carry out. Luckily, across Canada, there are several options in the realm of funding, subsidies, tax credits, and grants that can be applied to your province-specific home renovation project.

Alberta has a few available options, like grants tax credits and rebates for homeowners who wish to make their homes more accessible as well as increasingly eco-friendly.

Can You Claim House Renovations or Improvements On Your Federal Taxes in Canada?

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RAMP & Home Accessibility Tax Credit

The Residential Access Modification Program, also known as RAMP, provides grants to assist low-income households in Alberta who face mobility challenges to alter their homes accordingly to facilitate access and mobility throughout. Those who are eligible for RAMP can receive up to $7,500 per year and up to $15,000 within a 10-year benefit period.

Regardless of your age, all wheelchair-bound individuals who meet program criteria are eligible. However, you must be a Canadian citizen and have lived in Alberta for a consecutive period of 90 days, as well as have a health card (care card) to receive government tax credits or, in this case, home renovation grants. Further, anyone living with a progressive neurodegenerative disease, including but not limited to multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, ALS, COPD, as well as non-recovering stroke victims, those suffering from Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, spina bifida and/or spinal cord injuries or those who require a walking aid.

There are many specifications for this grant application, including income guidelines, the specifications of the home renovations and priority applicants. Therefore, if you believe that you are eligible and are interested in applying, thoroughly check out the Human Services Alberta webpage for more details.

Another program available for Canadians is the HATC, the Home Accessibility Tax Credit, a non-refundable tax credit, for which qualifying individuals can claim a tax credit after renovating their dwellings to improve accessibility and mobility, as well as the safety of the occupants since the improvements were tailored to the qualifying individuals to limit the risks of injuries. 

What is the home renovation tax credit offered by the CRA for 2023?

As part of Budget 2022, the Government of Canada introduced the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit, also known as the MHRTC, which is a refundable tax credit offered to assist qualifying individuals in renovating their dwellings to add a secondary unit (multigenerational home) to cohabitate with immediate qualifying relatives. In order to obtain this tax credit, the qualifying individuals must be seniors, meaning 65 years of age or older before the end of the tax year or persons of 18 years of age or older before the end of the taxation period during which the renovations occurred and are eligible for deduction under the Disability Tax Credit. For more information about this tax credit, visit the Government of Canada website.

Renewable Energy Home Renovation Initiatives in Alberta

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Green for the win! Specific to the province of Alberta, the Carbon Tax Repeal offers financial incentives to homeowners (qualifying persons) to lower their emissions and reduce their carbon footprint. As of January 1st, 2017, Alberta charges a carbon levy on all fuels that diffuse greenhouse gas emissions when combusted at a rate of $20/ton. The rate is based on the amount of carbon pollution released by fuel when combusted and includes transportation fuels such as diesel, gasoline, natural gas, and propane.

However, for farm owners, certain fuels will be exempt based on their use, such as marked gas and diesel. Also exempt is electricity. This levy is being reinvested into the province of Alberta in order to grow and diversify the economy alongside the reduction of carbon pollution.

By encouraging individuals to shift away from higher-emission fuels, they become more energy efficient and thus, more environmentally friendly. By providing lower to middle-income Alberta households with rebates, the provincial government is hoping to offset the costs associated with the carbon levy.

Further, a Residential No-cost Energy Savings Program is offered, with free installation of residential efficiency products such as lighting elements, water fixtures, programmable thermostats and other energy-efficient appliances and products into their home. To find out if your household is eligible, consider the details on the province of Alberta's website.

For homeowners or landlords who manage an entire building, which consists of 3 or more suites, the city of Calgary offers a multi-unit toilet replacement program. If you are willing to replace older toilet models, which waste high amounts of water, with high-efficiency WaterSense toilets, the city will provide a $50 rebate for each toilet.

To be eligible, you must occupy a multi-unit building in the city of Calgary, have removed any 13L+ toilets, and installed WaterSense-marked toilets. Make sure to do ample research regarding toilets before installing just any old porcelain bowl in your bathrooms!

Also, Banff residents can apply for rebates and incentives if they choose to add green and/or energy-efficient features to their homes to reduce home energy use. Water use reduction, as well as home energy use reduction, are two ways that Banff homeowners can save money while receiving rebates after the installation of eco-friendly appliances.

There are several different options for water use reduction rebates, including but not limited to replacing your toilet with a dual-flush or high-efficiency replacement, implementing an Energy Star-certified washing machine or dishwasher as well as installing rain barrels.

Regarding home energy use reduction, lower electrical and gas bills as well as reducing energy and greenhouse gas emissions caused by excessive energy use through the installation of Energy Star-certified products that include full-sized refrigerators, certified solar hot water systems, programmable thermostats, as well as high-efficiency furnace.

The amount of the rebate will vary from household to household and product to product, though if this is something you've been considering, take a look at Banff's website for more information on the subject matter.

As a homeowner, or a person qualifying as a senior or eligible under the Disability Tax Credit, knowing whether you are eligible for tax credits, incentives, or grants for home renovations or improvement work is not only important but worthwhile.