Solar Incentives

The best financial incentive for solar is the Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, offered by the federal government. 

The ITC offers a credit on your taxes for 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. Note that this is a credit and not a deduction. 

Here’s how it works. When you purchase and install a solar panel system for your home, you are eligible to claim the 30% credit when you file your taxes the following year. Unlike a donation to a nonprofit, which reduces the income that you owe taxes on, a tax credit actually contributes directly to what you pay in taxes on a one-to-one basis. 

In other words, say you make $60,000 per year and owe taxes of around $15,000. If you buy a $10,000 solar panel system paying upfront or with a loan, you’ll get a tax credit of $3,000 the following year. Instead of reducing your taxable income from $60,000 to $57,000, it actually reduces what you owe in taxes from $15,000 to $12,000. 

The best part? If you’ve already paid what you owe in taxes on your paycheck, then you’ll receive the ITC as a rebate check from the IRS. Pretty neat. 

Many different states, towns and utilities now have their own solar incentive or rebate plans. Eave can help you find out what additional discounts, credits and savings are available to you so you don’t miss out on any savings from solar.