Mar. 1--Looking to install a new energyefficient furnace? Uncle Sam could help pay for it, thanks to the federal government's new economic stimulus program.

Buying a new car? You'll be able to claim a federal income

tax deduction on the sales taxes you pay on all but the most expensive vehicles.

In the market for a house? The stimulus package offers a tax credit

of up to $8,000 on home purchases through the end of November.

"It's an added bonus," said Christopher Sucharski, a first-time home buyer who earlier this month closed on a house in Newfane.

While Sucharski already was looking to buy a house before the stimulus package was approved, he said the tax credit will make it easier to afford the inevitable costs of furnishing and sprucing up his new home.

The $787 billion economic stimulus program adopted earlier this month includes a wide range of tax breaks and incentives, many aimed at encouraging consumers to spend money while also easing the tax burden on most families.

The tax cuts included in the stimulus plan will reduce the tax burden on 97 percent of American families, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center, a Washington, D. C., think tank.

The effect of those tax cuts will boost the average family's after-tax income by 2 percent, or an average of $1,179, the center estimates. The biggest tax savings will go to people in the bottom fifth of the income spectrum. Those taxpayers will see their after-tax incomes rise by an average of 4.7 percent.

Almost half of the $280 billion in tax cuts included in the stimulus plan will go toward the "Making Work Pay" tax credit -- worth up to $400 for individuals and $800 for couples--that will be distributed by reducing the amount of taxes withheld from pay checks by April 1.

"The idea seems to be that, if people get the credit through their paychecks, the

money is more likely to get into circulation, rather than stuck into a savings account or used to pay down debt," said Mark Luscombe, a tax analyst at CCH Inc.

Many other aspects of the stimulus program that are aimed at individuals, however, will take a year or so to have an effect. That's because a significant portion of the stimulus package relies on tax breaks that taxpayers won't be able to cash in until they file their federal income tax returns next year.

Here's a look at other portions of the stimulus program that could affect you:

Unemployed workers

--Workers receiving unemployment benefits won't have to pay income taxes on the first $2,400 in benefits received this year. Those benefits previously had been completely taxable.

--Unemployment benefits will rise temporarily by $25 a week.

--Unemployment benefits will also include a 33-week expansion, extending the period laid-off workers in New York can get the benefits to 59 weeks.