A customer walks away with a countertop at a home and construction supply store in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)

A flurry of renovation is underway as homeowners try to fit in last-minute repairs and purchases to take advantage of the home renovation tax credit that expires Jan. 31.

All work has to be done and supplies purchased by Sunday at midnight.

The 15 per cent tax credit kicks in on expenditures of more than $1,000 and tops out at $10,000, with a maximum credit of $1,350.

"Our last three months of last year improved by about 20 per cent," said Tom Geoftsidis, a roofing contractor with Megacity Roofing in Toronto. He said his company was getting 150 estimates a week.

One Toronto Home Depot employee said people seemed to be making last-minute purchases to take advantage of the tax credit.

"We've seen a lot of interest in it. Currently there are a lot of people trying to make the deadline," said Arnold McMillan. "The concentration seems to be at this point on projects such as painting, renovating a bathroom, changing a toilet, adding new faucets."

The tax credit is non-refundable, meaning you must have enough taxable income in order to benefit. If you don't, there's no benefit.

Program a success: economist

University of Toronto economist Peter Dungan said the program should be considered a success.

"As stimulus items go, this one seems to be both a fairly successful one, and also one that worked pretty quickly."

Dungan said it's difficult to get a stimulus going rapidly, "and that's what we needed through 2009."

Toronto homeowner Stephen Taylor said he maxed out the tax credit by upgrading his bathroom, along with other parts of the house.

"We've kind of reached the maximum in terms of what we've paid to the contractor to get some of those upgrades done," he said.

Another homeowner, Jim Steinhart, who had his roof done by Megacity, said he was happy to be able to get a credit against the amount of taxes he would normally pay, but it didn't spur him to do any unnecessary repairs.

"[The roof] had to be done. It's just done a lot earlier. It's a nice little perk if you're doing the work anyway, but I certainly wouldn't have made my decisions on its basis," he said.