Knock $4,000 Off Your Taxes For Going Solar
by Justin Thomas, Virginia 
on 08.30.05
Forbes is reporting the under the new energy laws, homeowners can receive up to $4000 in tax credit for installing solar energy system. Congress authorized the solar credits for only two years — from Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2007. Homeowners can put in a photovoltaic system and/or a solar-powered hot water system, and get a federal tax credit worth 30% of the systems' cost, up to a credit of $2,000 per system. There are a couple of catches: The heating system can't be for a pool or hot tub, and the federal credit applies to the net system cost after any state incentives.
The good part is that this new federal break is a credit — not a deduction — meaning it reduces your tax bill directly, dollar for dollar. So, if you install both eligible solar systems in your house, you can knock $4,000 off your federal tax bill. And if you have more credit than you owe in tax, you can carry it over and use it to defray next year's federal tax bill.
:: Forbes
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where can I find the roof tiles pictured in this entry??
This write-up is a little misleading. The new law says homeowners can get tax credits of up to $2,000 per system -- that is, up to $2,000 for a photovoltaic system and another $2,000 for a solar hot water system. So, to get the full $4,000 credit, you'd have to invest in two complete system -- a sizeable investment, to be sure.
Here are some solar tile manufacturers:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/sharp_electroni.php
For a comprehensive listing of all the available incentives state by state as well as federal incentives (including the new ones from the Energy Bill) can be found at the Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy. It has incentives for solar as well as wind, biomass, microhydro etc. and is updated regularly. Its a great resource to navigate all of the myriad available incentives (and there are tons!).
Also, if you are a farmer, pay special attention to the incentives because there are a TON of them available for you in there (especially for wind). Business owners also get better incentives than the average Joe. So, if you are a farmer or small business owner considering solar or wind, take a good look through your avaiable state and fedaral incentives. You just might find you can knock up to 40% off your bill AND qualify for low interest subsidized loans to defray the up front capital costs as well as production credits to increase the income you earn per kilowatt hour after the system is installed thus cutting down on your payback time. The money is sitting out there for you to take.
There's also Uni-solar:
http://www.smartroofsolar.com/shingle.html
Is this a one-time credit over the two years for each of the two systems?
Also, don't forget the 'portable', yard-mounted, PV systems, that reduce your load, or give you a/c when the power's out, but don't quite take you off-grid. I live in a hurricane zone, and I don't trust the roof tiles to not get damaged in a storm, but I'd really like to run a window a/c unit.
So do you have to spend $12,000 to get a $4,000 tax break?
Recently (June, 2005) I installed solar panels for electric power (no pool or hot tub)at our winter home. Where do I go to find information regarding tax credits?
We live in the State of WA and the winter home is in CA.
Respectfully,
Roland D. Funk