|
I got a few quotes recently and was really wanting to do it, but it won't work out for me right now.
The first thing you need to know is that the Federal Tax Credit for Solar panels ISN'T a rebate, its a credit. Right now its 26% and will go down to 22% January 1st. That sound great, but see if it applies to you.
The credit is for income tax. Say the cost of the system is $50k, the tax credit is $13k. If you have a tax liability of $10k and because of other deductions you'll have an overpayment of $7k and receive a refund of that amount. The credit will allow you to receive the rest of your tax liability refunded to you ($10k-$7k = $3k) that year. But the remaining $10k of the credit will be unused (you won't see it that year).
The credit that you apply for can be applied to your income tax (what you've paid), but cannot be applied to an amount greater than what you've paid. It can be reserved and applied for the next 20 years.
There's also a calculation page for Federal tax credits that needs to be filled out each year which will let you know what you've already applied for and what can be applied that year. This needs to be done every year if you have any leftover credits.
The company I was most impressed with is local to the DC Metro area, but they did a LIDAR scan of my property, modeled in the roof and trees and gave me a full report the amount of sunlight my roof would get. I got an estimation of what the panels and system would produce compared to my electric bill from the previous year.
The system I was looking at would be $62,000, but as I have four kids and a mortgage, I just don't make enough to have paid income tax of $15,000 each year with withholding on my W4.
This loan company expects that you will receive the tax credit back from the IRS within 18 months of the system being installed, its like a delayed down payment. Which works out great if you get the full amount of the credit in the first year, but I wouldn't. The loan would then be reamortized and the monthly payment would be greater than I would be paying for my regular power bill ($220 rather than $150).
I'd be glad to send you the report I got if that helps. I just can't afford it right now as I can't get the Federal tax credit in the amount needed to make it worth it.
|