The renewable energy tax credit allows a taxpayer to claim 26 percent of qualified expenditures for a solar system that serves a dwelling unit, owned and used by a taxpaying resident. If you are tax exempt then you cannot receive this.
The federal tax credit is a credit and not a rebate meaning you must have enough tax liability to get full use of the credit.
If the federal tax credit exceeds your tax liability in the year of installation, the remaining amount can be carried over to the succeeding taxable year.
If you have taxes held from your pay by your employer during the year, and therefore have no tax liability due at the end of the year, then your tax credit value will be issued as a refund.
Eligible expenditure includes labor costs for on-site preparation, assembly or original system installation, and sales tax.
In order for us to properly prepare for installing the solar attic fan and not be counterproductive, by pulling heat and air from inside the home, we do the procedures to properly air-seal penetrations in the attic that lead into the home and make sure the attic can breath so the fan can circulate airflow.
To claim the 26% solar tax credit you simply complete a Form 5695 and add the results of this to your main tax return for the year in which the solar fan was installed.
Form 5695 calculates tax credits for a variety of qualified residential energy improvements. You only need to worry about line 1 being the line for solar electricity. Insert the total cost of your solar fan system, including installation, preparation work, and sales tax (Basically the cost of the project).
Example for filling out form 5695:
1.Qualified solar electric property costs..............................................................1. $5,000
2.Qualified solar water heating property costs....................................................2. $0
3.Qualified small wind energy heating property costs........................................3. $0
4.Qualified geothermal heat pump property costs..............................................4. $0
5.Add lines 1 through 4.......................................................................................5. $5,000
6.Multiply line 5 by 26% (.26)..............................................................................6. $1,500
Assuming you are not also receiving a tax credit for fuel cells installed on your property, and you aren't carrying forward any credits from last year, put the value from line 6 on line 13.
Pat yourself on the back, you're almost done! The steps above outline all you need to do to get your 26% solar tax credit! Be sure to include Form 5695 when you submit your taxes to the IRS or give the form to a CPA if you don't do your taxes yourself.
Give us a call and we'll help you fill out your form! If further help is needed, we will advise you to speak to a CPA for further questions on these tax credits for professional and legal advice.
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