{"id":11883,"date":"2020-01-31T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/?p=11883"},"modified":"2021-02-10T19:23:44","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T00:23:44","slug":"the-federal-solar-tax-credit-in-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/2020\/01\/the-federal-solar-tax-credit-in-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"The Federal Solar Tax Credit in 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Blog post by\u00a0Boston Solar<\/a>, the original post can be found\u00a0here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been staying abreast of the tax savings that the Federal Solar Tax Credit (officially known as the Investment Tax Credit), you may already know that there are some changes coming now that 2019 is over. This has many solar-curious Massachusetts homeowners wondering, \u201cWill the federal solar tax credit be available in 2020?\u201d<\/p>\n

YES \u2014 and at a rate of 26%.<\/strong>\u00a0Here\u2019s what you need to know about this solar panel tax credit in 2020, how it has changed, and how you can cash in.<\/p>\n

How Much is the Solar Tax Credit in 2020 and Beyond?<\/h3>\n

This year in 2020, that federal tax credit is worth 26% for homeowners and businesses. In 2021, the federal tax credit will reduce to 22% and in 2022, it will be eliminated for homeowners but remain at 10% for businesses.<\/p>\n

So, what does that 26% tax credit savings look like for the average solar installation here in Massachusetts? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

How To Claim the Solar Tax Credit<\/h3>\n

All these percentages don\u2019t mean much if you can\u2019t apply them to what a solar installation actually costs! So:<\/p>\n

After your solar installation is complete, simply add up all of your solar related costs. From there, take 26% of those costs, and subtract that number from what you owe in federal tax liability.<\/p>\n

As an example, we will use the average cost that we see for most of our customers from the North Shore to the South Shore, and into the Pioneer Valley, of $35,000 for a residential solar installation.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

26% of $35,000 = $9,100 in tax credit savings<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Come tax time in April of 2021, follow these simple instructions:<\/p>\n

1) Keep all receipts related to your solar installation project<\/strong><\/p>\n

2) Obtain and fill out an IRS Form 5695.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) Add your renewable energy credit information to your typical IRS Form 1040.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhat Happens if My Solar Tax Credit Is More Than What I Owe?\u201d<\/h3>\n

So what happens when your federal tax liability* is less than the total deduction from your solar installation? Let\u2019s say at the end of 2020, you owed the Federal Government $5,000 in taxes. Taking the above example solar tax credit of $9,100, your Federal taxes are $0 for 2020, leaving $4,100 leftover from the tax credit. Fortunately, you can roll that remainder over into next year\u2019s taxes, reducing your 2021 Federal Taxes as well. This is to ensure you get to utilize every cent of this solar incentive.<\/p>\n

*DISCLAIMER: While this blog post discusses solar tax credits and filing your returns, you should ALWAYS consult your tax professional for your specific situation. We do not assume responsibility for your tax situation or credits.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

But Wait\u2026 There Are More Savings Available!<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019ve heard about the solar tax credit, you may also know about the\u00a0SMART incentives<\/a>\u00a0available to Massachusetts homeowners and businesses who power their homes or commercial properties with the renewable energy of solar. So, will solar SMART income be available in 2020?<\/p>\n

The Answer:<\/strong>\u00a0As long as there are\u00a0SMART Program Incentive Blocks<\/a>\u00a0available in your utility area, you can take advantage of the added income your solar installation can generate for you. This could mean savings on average of $8,000 up to $15,000 per system over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n

Plus, the state of Massachusetts is offering an\u00a0additional $1,000 state tax credit<\/strong>\u00a0for solar installation, further reducing the total cost of installing solar this year for your home or\u00a0business<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look again at the average price of a solar energy system of $35,000.\u00a0 When you add up the savings from the federal solar tax credit + SMART incentives + state tax credit = $18,100 in solar savings!<\/p>\n

Curious about the Real Cost of Solar Installation? Ask Us.<\/h3>\n

As the number one Massachusetts based solar installer, there is no other contractor more qualified to answer your questions about how you can reduce your installation costs through the Federal Solar Tax Credit, state solar tax credit, and SMART incentives. If you are looking to go solar the \u201csmart\u201d way, get in touch with our team today!<\/p>\n

_____________________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

Looking to go solar the \u201csmart\u201d way? Schedule a free solar quote with Boston Solar today. Call us at 617-858-1645 or\u00a0get in touch here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Blog post by\u00a0Boston Solar, the original post can be found\u00a0here. If you\u2019ve been staying abreast of the tax savings that the Federal Solar Tax Credit (officially known as the Investment Tax Credit), you may already know that there are some<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":11884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[248,290],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-11883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solarize-plus","category-residential-solar","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenneedham.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}