Making sure you know about all the solar incentives and discounts available to you is part of our mission in making solar affordable and accessible to all. If you’re ready to start building a brighter future, learning about solar incentives is the place to start!

Ready to speak with a Solar Advisor about Solar Incentives?

Let’s Break Down These Solar Incentives:

1. The federal tax credit

The federal tax credit, also called the federal income tax credit, remains at 26% for all systems installed in 2020. When this big refund check shows up, in your mailbox or direct deposit, it’s happy-dance time. 

While this sizable credit has been a huge help for solar consumers, it is contingent upon a family’s tax liability. Basically, your tax refund is limited to what you pay in taxes over the course of a given year. The good news is, you may be able to use the credit over multiple years. We recommend speaking with your tax professional to see if you’ll be able to benefit from this tax credit.

2. The NYSERDA incentive

This is a block grant — basically a monetary reward for going solar — that decreases over time, as more solar capacity is installed in the area. Currently, the incentive is .35 cents per watt and will decrease to .20 once remaining capacity is reached. The most money NYSERDA will give you for a normal residential project (no special NYSERDA programs involved) is $8,750.

3. The state tax credit

After taking the NYSERDA block grant into account, you can write off 25% of your total solar system value or $5,000 (whichever comes first) on your taxes. If you don’t have enough tax appetite to write off the whole sum, New York will let you roll the remaining credit to the next cycle.

Bonus: New York Real Property Tax Exemption

If you’re going solar, you’re providing a net benefit to the grid, the state, and the planet as a whole. You’re also increasing the value of your property, because, hey, who wouldn’t want to live in a house with a negative electric bill? Normally, improvements like this would mean that you have to pay higher property taxes. Luckily, the state of New York thinks that the benefits of solar outweigh their need for your tax dollars.

The state provides a 15-year real property tax exemption for properties located in New York State with renewable energy systems as long as the jurisdiction the system is located in doesn’t opt-out. See if your jurisdiction has opted out here. (This law only applies to the value that a solar electric system adds to the overall value of the property. It does not mean that landowners with an installed renewable energy system are exempt from all property tax!)

Affordable Solar Program

Program available for low to moderate income level household (LMI) defined as a household with gross income at 80% or less of the median county income (80% AMI). For example, a 4-person household in Dutchess County bringing in less than $73,568 would qualify.

With this program an eligible household can double their NYSERDA Rebate up to 6 kW! That’s a pretty big incentive. The map to figure out eligibility is located here.