Homeowners want to deduct insulation costs from taxes

Prague - Homeowners should have the option to claim expenses for improving the technical parameters of their homes as tax-deductible costs during the economic crisis. This is demanded by the Civic Association of Homeowners (OSMD), said its chairman Tomislav Šimeček today to ČTK. In practice, this would allegedly pertain to the replacement of windows and other expenditures on insulation of buildings.
    "During the crisis, it would encourage owners to invest in housing," the head of the association stated. The advantage would allegedly be that it would also apply to owners of apartments with rental units. OSMD plans to present its proposal in detail at a press conference on February 19.
    Owners could directly include expenses for insulation in their costs. Currently, according to Šimeček, expenses for insulation are viewed from a legal perspective as modernization and are therefore subject to depreciation. Depreciation reportedly lasts for the lifespan of the modernization, which Šimeček says could be up to 30 years.
    Public support for building insulation is mainly provided by the Panel program of the State Housing Development Fund. So far, it has only concerned panel houses, but according to a recent statement by Minister for Regional Development Cyril Svoboda, it should also apply to other buildings. For this year, the budget for the Panel program includes the possibility of concluding contracts with grant recipients for 3.5 billion crowns. However, Svoboda stated that the future budget of the program should significantly increase. The Panel has also been identified as an important tool in crisis measures by the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV).
    In addition to national resources allocated for the insulation of domestic apartments and houses, up to another 13 billion crowns from the European Regional Development Fund may also come to the Czech Republic.