The federal government introduced the Home Renovation Tax Credit as an incentive to Canadians to start renovation projects as a means of providing economic stimulus. Spending the maximum of $10,000 on materials and labour would make you eligible for the full tax credit of $1,350.
Rona has recently started a program called RONAdvantage. With this plan, you must sign up for the Rona Desjardins Visa. You can then track all your purchases until January 31, 2010 and submit a claim form for 10% in Rona gift cards on eligible purchases up to $10,000.
Home Depot is starting a similar program in July called Redemption Tracker. You would need to apply for a Home Depot Consumer Credit Card to track your purchases. Their website says that the The Home Depot Tax Credit Top-Up allows you to earn up to 10% back in Home Depot gift cards on eligible purchases during promotional periods. So this might not be as open as the RONAdvantage plan that’s available over the entire HRTC period.
Comparing the two, it looks like Rona has the superior promotion, its tracking is available now and does not have the “promotional periods” catch. If you were to spend $10,000 on eligible purchases, you would receive $1,000 in Rona gift cards and then receive a tax credit from the CRA for $1,350. Depending on the type of renovations, you may also be eligible for ecoENERGY Retrofit grants.
You may also be able to get Home Depot Military Discounts.
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Tom Drake is the owner and head writer of Canadian Finance Blog.
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[...] – Canadian Finance lets everyone know that Rona and Home Depot are providing further incentive to home [...]
[...] your renovations done before January 31st is that many retailers like Rona and Home Depot are providing further incentives to renovate and to use their store to get it [...]
This seems to be a very messy approach, as it ignores everything to do with the amount of energy actually used. Nonetheless, it is potentially a shot in the arm for the industry and should alter the way self-builders think about the design of their house.