Qualified Residential Energy Credit

[louiscatoni]

I have a client that are married owning residential property jointly and both lived in the home all of year 2007. They incurred costs of $7000 for qualified residential energy property. If they file jointly, they get a energy credit of $300. However, if they file seperately they could get a energy credit of $300 each. Can they? My research tells me they can file seperately and each get a credit. Am I missing something?

[Bees Knees]

Form 5695 instructions say:

Joint occupancy. If you owned your home jointly,
each owner must complete his or her own Form 5695.
To figure the credit, there are no maximum qualifying
costs for insulation, exterior doors, and a metal roof.
Enter the amounts you paid for these items on the
appropriate lines of Form 5695. For windows and
residential energy property costs, the amount allocable
to you is the smaller of:
*$2,000 for windows; $300 for energy-efficient
building property; $150 for a qualified natural gas,
propane, or oil furnace or hot water boiler; or $50 for
an advanced main air circulating fan.
These rules do not apply to married individuals filing
a joint return.

There appears to be two issues here.

1. Each spouse would have to file a separate return to get this, as you can't file two separate Form 5695 on a joint return.
2. Each spouse would have to separately pay expenses, as it says "enter the amounts you paid..."

So yes, it appears you get to double the credit on a MFS return, provided each spouse actually paid separate expenses.

[ChEAr$]

question?

Form 5695 instructions say:


So yes, it appears you get to double the credit on a MFS return, provided each spouse actually paid separate expenses.

So then, do they automatically get to in a communistic state?