
Keith Srakocic
In this photo made on Thursday, May 6, 2021, a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E is seen as it is charging at a Ford dealer in Wexford, Pa. Taking sustainability efforts to the next level by switching to clean energy or purchasing an electric vehicle might feel daunting. Several federal incentives, such as the electric vehicle tax credit and home energy tax credits, may help offset the cost of the commitment for those who made upgrades last year or for those looking to take the leap in 2022. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Many Americans have woven green practices into their everyday lives — from recycling to going paperless and even cutting back on meat consumption.
Switching to clean energy or purchasing an electric vehicle are additional ways to go green, but large-scale upgrades also often come with major price tags. Several existing tax credits can help to offset the cost of the commitment — but it pays to know the details.
Whether you’re looking to make some upgrades this year or are wondering if any changes you made in 2021 count toward a tax discount, here’s a quick-start guide to the current federal tax incentives for energy efficiency and other green upgrades.
Plug-in electric car credit
Upgrading to an electric vehicle comes with a few feel-good benefits. Apart from lowering your carbon footprint, electric vehicles often require less maintenance and cost less to fuel than their gas-powered counterparts.
Your purchase might even count toward a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. The catch? You’ll need to keep an eye on which vehicles qualify and for how much.
“What you’ll find is that high-performing fully electric vehicles get the full benefit of the credit,” says Shannon Christensen, an attorney and editor for Thomson Reuters Tax and Accounting based in Lindstrom, Minnesota.
Hybrid models, on the other hand, often qualify for a smaller sum.
Here’s a glance at some of the fine print:
— The credit is worth $2,500 to $7,500, depending on the car’s battery capacity.
— Credits are reduced and eventually phase out after a manufacturer sells 200,000 qualifying vehicles.
— You must own the car. Used or leased cars don’t qualify.
— The car must weigh less than 14,000 pounds.
— The credit is nonrefundable ; it can lower your tax bill to zero, but it won’t result in a refund.
Don’t forget to look for additional incentives on the state and local level, says Gena Jones, an attorney and certified public accountant based in Flossmoor, Illinois. California’s Clean Air Vehicle program, for example, grants carpool lane access to select electric vehicles. New Yorkers, on the other hand, might be eligible for a state-level rebate of up to $2,000 on top of the federal tax credit.
Residential energy credits
Green tax credits for the home come in two buckets: one for renewable energy systems and another for energy efficiency.
Taxpayers who upgrade to renewable energy systems for their homes, such as solar panels or geothermal heat pumps, may be eligible for a nonrefundable tax credit of up to 26% of the costs for systems installed in 2020 through 2022. After that, the percentage goes down to 22% for systems installed in 2023.
Switching to an alternative energy system could also help you save on utilities and even increase the value of your home.
But note that certain subsidies — like, say, a kickback check you receive from a utility company — should be included as income when you file your return, says Christensen. Otherwise, you’ll need to subtract the check amount from the total costs you’re claiming before you calculate your credit.
If you’re wondering about smaller commitment changes, the IRS also offers some relief there. Adding insulation or upgrading to energy-efficient doors or windows in your home might make you eligible for a nonrefundable tax credit of up to $500. The caveat? This credit hasn’t been renewed for 2022, so only qualifying upgrades in 2021 count at this point.
Before you file
If you think you’re eligible for a federal tax incentive this year, make sure you provide your tax preparer with all the necessary receipts and certificates to redeem the credit you’re eyeing, says Jones. If you’re missing any of the paperwork, you might jeopardize your chances of qualifying.
And if you’re not quite ready to commit to an electric vehicle or solar paneling, make sure to keep an eye on the fate of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act in the coming months. Although it’s currently stalled in Congress, the bill has several ambitious plans in place for clean energy, including generous expansions and enhancements of the existing credits above.
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Mintr // Shutterstock
Half of American adults started 2022 with a desire to boost their savings. That admirable intention could prove easier for those who developed good savings habits at a young age.
After all, it’s possible kids who get used to regularly depositing some allowance funds in their piggy bank won’t think twice about setting money aside when higher wages and expenses enter the picture later in life. There’s even a significant bonus for young savers: Compound interest, which is the interest earned on interest.
To demonstrate how people can benefit from this mathematical superpower, GoHenry calculated how starting to save as a kid can impact your wealth by calculating how much money one can make if they started saving $1 a day at the age of 5.
This calculation was made by taking the premise that someone would deposit $365 at the end of a year into an investment account, and this money would compound annually at a market rate of 8%. The story shows the example of how much one would save if they started saving and depositing money at the age of 5, and how much that money increases by the ages of 6, 7, 10, 12, 16, 18, 25, 50, and 100.
Notably, minors can’t open their own savings accounts, but their parents or other adults can open joint or custodial accounts for them.

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People Image Studio // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $365.00
- Amount returned: $0.00
- Total end-of-year wealth: $365.00
Abstract concepts like money and the power of compounding are hard for kids to comprehend at this age. Nevertheless, children are typically ready to develop skills that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says can build “a foundation for behaviors that support financial well-being,” including saving for the future. These skills include persisting through hard tasks and learning to wait for things they want.
The abilities to control impulses and plan ahead are also important, the bureau notes. Playing “pretend” and games like Simon Says and Red Light, Green Light can help kids build these and other critical skills while having fun.
In addition, encouraging kids to put coins into a glass jar can make the idea of money—and growing it—more concrete and exciting as savers develop their counting skills.
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YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $730.00
- Amount returned: $29.20
- Total end-of-year wealth: $759.20
This is a great age to introduce allowances, which can be powerful tools to teach young kids about earning, saving, and spending. A 2019 study found kids in the U.S. were receiving an average of $30 a week in allowance, but an important lesson wasn’t sticking: Parents said their children were primarily spending the money to buy things. To help kids better understand savings, parents can encourage them to pick small savings goals and track their progress on a chart filled with colorful visuals.
Parents could go a step further by “matching” their childrens’ savings, like adding 10 cents to the piggy bank for every dollar they save. It’s a benefit children will hopefully recognize and appreciate one day if a future employer offers a similar incentive in the form of a 401(k) retirement savings match.
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Darrin Henry // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $2,190.00
- Amount returned: $487.61
- Total end-of-year wealth: $2,677.61
Kids in the fourth and fifth grades are ready to tackle key personal financial topics. These include understanding interest, why it’s important to save for emergencies, and how to develop ways to set short-term and long-term goals for saving, according to the FDIC.
These young smarties can also better understand the benefits of saving money in a bank versus at home. If parents haven’t already opened an interest-bearing savings account (or investment account) for a child, it’s a great time to do so. The best options offer a good interest rate that doesn’t require monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and have online tools that let tech-savvy savers monitor their growing balances.
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MAYA LAB // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $2,920.00
- Amount returned: $962.37
- Total end-of-year wealth: $3,882.37
Tweens are typically able to understand the math behind concepts like compound interest, not just the theory. They’re also able to plan ahead and save for things they want. That’s a timely skill as many are old enough to start babysitting, mowing yards, or finding other ways to earn larger sums of cash.
While they may be learning about personal finance at school, many youths are also looking for guidance at home. Half of surveyed kids between ages 8 and 14 said they want their parents to talk to them about how to save money.
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VALUA VITALY // Shutterstock
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GaudiLab // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $5,110.00
- Amount returned: $3,728.45
- Total end-of-year wealth: $8,838.45
Cash is always a popular graduation gift, and it’s surely welcomed by high-school seniors who are embarking on the transition into a full-time job or the next level of schooling. Some kids who have custodial savings accounts created as UGMA (Uniform Gifts to Minors Act) or UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) accounts will finally gain control of them when they turn 18. Others will need to wait until they are 21 or even older.
This is a time for parents to help increasingly independent kids understand not only how to budget successfully, but also how to save and invest for short- and long-term goals. If teens are taking out college loans, they need to gain an honest understanding of the impact that graduating with student debt will have on their personal finances. The average public university student borrows $30,030 in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and that sum will likely take quite a while to pay down.
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SFIO CRACHO // Shutterstock
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Bystrov // Shutterstock
- End-of-year amount deposited: $35,040.00
- Amount returned: $7,337,459.00
- Total end-of-year wealth: $7,372,499.00
There were 97,000 centenarians in the U.S. in February 2021, and that number could increase over time. Life expectancy, or the number of years a person is expected to live, has generally been on the rise in the country since 1980.
Though reaching a three-digit birthday is a remarkable achievement, it can also be scary from a financial perspective. Forty-nine percent of Americans fear they will outlive their savings. It’s a reasonable worry given that Social Security replaces only about 40% of a worker’s pre-retirement income on average.
Fortunately, dutifully saving $1 a day for more than nine decades—and having the money compound annually at a market rate of 8%—could make someone a multi-millionaire by the time they gather around their cake with 100 candles to blow out, plus one to grow on.
This story originally appeared on GoHenry and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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