Audit Finds Problems With Government’s Tax Credit Program

• May 30, 2011
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by UrbanTurf Staff

In his latest column, long-time housing columnist Kenneth Harney writes that an audit has found a number of problems with the government’s tax credit program aimed at helping home owners make energy-efficient improvements to their properties. The audit was conducted by the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration.

Perhaps the most glaring problem revealed in the audit was that those who took advantage of the program did not actually own a home. From the column:

In a review of 5 million returns, auditors found that more than 302,000 taxpayers, who received a total of $234 million in credits from the IRS, showed no evidence of actually owning a home — the minimum requirement for eligibility. A review of a smaller sample of returns, supplemented with local real estate deed information, found that 30 percent “had no record of owning a home.”

The audit, which can be viewed here, reported that more than 6.8 million individuals claimed more than $5.8 billion in residential energy credits on 2009 tax returns processed through December 31, 2010.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/audit_finds_problems_with_governments_tax_credit_program/3571

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