Consumers who took the plunge and made qualifying energy efficiency upgrades in 2009 should see additional benefits this spring as tax season rolls around. For those still waiting on the sidelines, you have until the end of 2010 to take advantage of federal energy efficiency tax credits.

Through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — better known as the  stimulus bill — Uncle Sam offers a personal tax credit of up to $1,500 for energy efficiency measures made to existing homes during 2009 and 2010. Consumers may recover 30 percent of the cost of adding insulation materials and exterior doors, windows and roofs designed to help reduce a home’s heat loss or gain. The credit also covers efficient central air conditioners, air-source heat pumps, hot water boilers and biomass stoves.

“These credits put more money in home owners’ pockets,” indicates Rob Marvin, media relations specialist for the Internal Revenue Service. “Say you spend $1,000 on new insulation. Taxpayers would get, in the form of a tax credit, $300 back. This translates to a 30-percent tax credit. That’s a lot more generous than the old (10 percent) credit provided for the 2006 and 2007 tax years.”