Understanding the Renewable Energy Tax Credit

Learn about how renewable energy tax credits work and how they can help reduce your taxes.

Understanding the Renewable Energy Tax Credit

The federal residential solar energy credit is a tax credit that can be requested in federal income taxes for a percentage of the cost paid for a photovoltaic solar system. An official website of the United States government Official websites use.gov A. The gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The information provided is for background reference only; consult a tax professional for guidance. When you buy solar equipment for your home and have a tax liability, you can generally apply for a solar tax credit to reduce your tax bill.

The residential clean energy credit is non-refundable, meaning you can offset your tax liability dollar for dollar, but no excess credit will be refunded. If the credit exceeds your tax liability for the year, you can “transfer the unused portion to future years,” as long as the credit remains in effect. In August, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) increased the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) by 30% over the next ten years. The clean energy residential real estate credit is a 30 percent credit for certain qualifying expenses incurred by a taxpayer on energy-efficient residential properties. The residential clean energy credit for solar energy improvements in your home was extended to 2034 and its value increased.

The residential solar energy tax credit was extended to 2034 and increased in value, so now could be a good time to add solar energy to your home. The federal production tax credit program, which is mainly used for wind power projects, was first applied to installations put into service starting in 1994. The ITC is a dollar-for-dollar credit for expenses invested in renewable energy properties, most often in solar projects. The solar energy tax credit has no income limits, so all individual taxpayers can apply for the credit for qualifying investments in solar energy equipment made in their homes in the United States. It is a loan to invest in the manufacture of renewable energy equipment, not for the generation of them. You can't apply for the residential clean energy solar energy tax credit for installing solar energy on your property's rental properties, unless you also live in the house for part of the year and use it as rent when you're away. The IRS states in questions 25 and 26 of its Q&A on tax credits that external solar panels or solar panels that are not directly in the taxpayer's home could still qualify for the federal residential solar tax credit under some circumstances.

Installing renewable energy equipment in your home can allow you to obtain a residential clean energy credit of up to 30% of your total qualification cost, depending on the year the equipment is installed and put into service. The credit is only limited to 30% of the qualifying expenses incurred by the property put into service in a given year. When combined with other energy efficiency credits for home improvements that the Inflation Reduction Act has made more accessible and cost-effective, investments in qualified energy-related improvements have become more financially profitable for homeowners.

Elise Ledwig
Elise Ledwig

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