Solar Tax Credit Estimator

The 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit — solar's economic engine for two decades — ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, nine years ahead of its old schedule. That leaves two audiences: households who installed in 2025 and are claiming 30% of the full system cost on returns filed right now (Form 5695, carryforward included), and everyone deciding whether solar still pencils without Washington's third off. This estimator serves both, with honest payback math.

Claiming a 2025 Installation

• 30% of everything: panels, inverters, batteries (any size installed with or after the system), labor, permits, sales tax — a $24,000 system claims $7,200.
• "Placed in service" by Dec 31, 2025: operational — utility permission-to-operate is the usual evidence — not merely signed or installed-but-idle. Late-December installs with January PTO are the gray zone; documentation matters.
• Nonrefundable, but carries forward: a credit exceeding this year's tax rolls to future years — retirees and modest-liability filers get it all eventually.
• Roof work doesn't count (unless it's solar shingles); neither do systems on rentals you don't live in.

Does Solar Still Work Without the Credit?

The pre-credit math is the honest one now: net cost ÷ annual bill savings. What decides it:

Two market notes: installers' pricing is adjusting downward post-credit (bid competitively — quotes vary 30%+ for identical systems), and lease/PPA offers may still embed subsidies because third-party commercial owners retain business credits under transition rules through 2027 — compare their all-in cost against cash/loan honestly rather than assuming leases lost their logic.

How to Use the Estimator

1. Set timing: 2025 installs get the 30% computed for Form 5695; 2026+ gets $0 federal and the real question.
2. Enter system cost, current bill, expected offset, and any state/utility money (your state energy office lists them).
3. Read net cost and payback — under ~10 years is a solid yes at panel lifespans; the 25-year line shows the full prize.

Frequently Asked Questions

I installed solar in 2025 — how do I claim the 30%?

Form 5695 with your 2025 return: 30% of total system cost including battery and labor. Keep the contract, proof of payment, and permission-to-operate date. Unused credit carries forward automatically.

My system was installed in December but activated in January 2026 — do I qualify?

The test is 'placed in service' — operational. PTO in January makes the claim aggressive; some preparers support it with installation-complete evidence, others won't. Real money, genuine gray zone: get professional advice rather than guessing.

Is the credit coming back?

Unknowable — it's been extended/revived before, and bills to restore it exist. Current law: ended. Deciding on solar today should use today's law and your state's incentives.

Do batteries still get any credit?

Federal: no, post-2025 (2025 installs: yes, 30%, even standalone 3kWh+). Several states (CA SGIP, MA, others) still rebate storage — and under avoided-cost net metering, batteries are increasingly what makes the economics work at all.

Are solar leases now a bad deal?

Different, not automatically bad: third-party owners can still harvest business credits through transition windows, and some pass savings through. Compare the lease's 25-year total cost against a cash/loan purchase's — the honest spreadsheet decides, not the salesperson's monthly-savings pitch.

What are SRECs?

Solar Renewable Energy Certificates — tradeable credits your production earns in a few states (NJ, MA, PA, MD, DC), worth hundreds per year. Where they exist, they're now among the largest incentives standing.

Is my information private?

Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser.

File the 2025 claim by the book, and judge new solar the old-fashioned way: rates × offset ÷ net cost. In expensive-electricity states the sun still pays — it just takes a sharper pencil and three competitive bids now.