As federal home efficiency tax breaks expire, Maine moves ahead with its own incentives

For about 20 years, Americans interested in improving energy efficiency in their homes could lean on a federal income tax break to help pay for insulation, new windows, and other improvements. That benefit was eliminated as part of Trump's tax and spending law passed by Congressional Republicans over the summer. The tax breaks end at the beginning of 2026. Now vendors are working hard to explain to confused consumers that there's still state money available to help with projects. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit provided a $1,200 income tax benefit for certain upgrades. But Efficiency Maine offers bigger rebates of up to $8,000 for insulation. The problem is that many prospective customers believe that changes to federal law eliminated all incentives.