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Master Thread: Energy products and Tax discussions

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I’m in NY and looking to buy solar panels. I know this GREEN act shooting around congress will supposedly up the tax credit to 30%. I also know the NYSERDA credit phases out over time. I’m wondering if anyone knows at what point you’re locked into the NYSERDA credit. Is it from time of order or install? I’m trying to figure out how to maximize my savings. I’d like to order now to qualify for the NYSERDA money and hope that the GREEN act gets passed before year end so I can capitalize on it all. But I also don’t know if they were to pass something upping the tax credit if I would qualify if I ordered before it was passed.

Also I was gonna pass on powerwall for now since it’s not a necessity for us at the moment. But I started thinking about purchasing 1 or 2 powerwalls from someone selling their referral award powerwall. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with how Tesla handles the install of these? Do they just charge the same install fee and allow it? And does anyone know if you can claim the tax credits on powerwalls bought secondhand?

Thanks in advance for any insight.
 
Also I was gonna pass on powerwall for now since it’s not a necessity for us at the moment. But I started thinking about purchasing 1 or 2 powerwalls from someone selling their referral award powerwall. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with how Tesla handles the install of these? Do they just charge the same install fee and allow it? And does anyone know if you can claim the tax credits on powerwalls bought secondhand?
Like a lot of questions in this thread, the best answer on the credit really is to check with a tax advisor. However, my thought is that you should be able to since you are purchasing it for use with a solar install. The seller would not be able to claim the credit because it was not used for solar. I believe you are correct on how Tesla handles it - you just pay the applicable install fee, though you should check with Tesla (as it might even depend on whether the reward-earner takes delivery or has the reward transferred to you.)

I do not know anything about NY credits. As far as the federal tax credit, I think if it is increased, it would probably be retroactive to the beginning of the year (there is precedent for that) but there are no guarantees that will happen, that the act will pass at all, or that it won't be amended back to 26%, for example. While this thread is about tax discussions, for the NY portion of your question, you might want to start a new thread for visibility. If it is phasing out, it probably makes sense to try and lock it in whenever and however that is done, and then hope things work out on the federal side. (And, even if they don't, maybe the NY incentives make up for it.)
 
Curious on the feedback here if anyone has experience.

If you add additional PW to your existing system which you claimed Solar/ITC credit in the past, would you be allowed to claim another federal solar/ITC credit for adding additional PW to your existing system?

On the flip side I don't believe if you add additional solar panels to your home for which you already claimed solar/itc credit in the past is allowed according to the IRS guidelines on energy.gov, but I could be wrong?

On Intuit turbotax forum this question came up and the response was you can claim it for the new equipment but that was from a user.
 
As far as I am aware, there is no restriction on the number of times you can claim the credit as long as it is a "qualified solar electric property expenditure" per section 25D of the US Code. This would include adding batteries, adding more solar to an existing setu, or adding another solar install to the same or another property (noting solar does not have to be primary residence, unlike some other credits.) I would be interested in anything you see on energy.gov that suggests otherwise. There are other credits (like the energy efficiency credit) that have lifetime limits, but the ITC is unlimited in both amount and number of times it can be claimed.
 
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I have taken the solar credit as i have added inverters and batteries to my system. I am just a user and unless you want to request a letter ruling all you are going to get is user experience. You can also pay an accountant to make the same analysis previous posters have offered.
 
This was on energy.gov

"The solar PV system is new or being used for the first time. The credit can only be claimed on the “original installation” of the solar equipment."

Kelly Pickerel editor in chief of Solar Power World was asked the same question and her response was only once on original install too.

I'm under the same impression as you all there is no limit but maybe she is reading into the energy.gov different?
 
Each addition is an "original install" of that equipment. I interpret that statement to mean no double dipping or used equipment.
That is exactly how I understand it. There is a market for used solar - sometimes people either want or need to remove existing solar, sometimes to replace with a newer and/or larger system. The old one can be sold, but the purchaser of the second-hand system would not be entitled to claim the ITC for the costs related to the previously-used system.
 
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Each addition is an "original install" of that equipment. I interpret that statement to mean no double dipping or used equipment.

Thats how I read that too. Meaning, I cant claim the credit on my home / install this year, and then sell the home, and have whoever bought it try to claim the value of said equipment on their taxes as well. Each install is only eligible for the credit on its initial installation, but by the same token, each product is eligible on its initial installation.

Saying that, however, I am just a user as well, and not as well informed on this specific topic as some others in this section.

=================================

(Moderator note: while this belongs in the "energy products and tax discussions" master thread above, this question is a bit different than the usual ones, so I am going to leave it here for a few days before moving the posts into that thread.
 
I sure did, twice with no issues.

I don't think anything is preventing anyone from making multiple claims and until someone is audited and finds out the hard way we can assume based on our interpretation it is okay to do so.

I'm waiting for a second CPA to call me back to confirm but also not sure how familiar they are with solar credit
 
I don't think anything is preventing anyone from making multiple claims and until someone is audited and finds out the hard way we can assume based on our interpretation it is okay to do so.

I'm waiting for a second CPA to call me back to confirm but also not sure how familiar they are with solar credit

Even if this was the case, pretty much the worst that would likely happen is needing to remove it from your taxes. Its not likely to be claimed as negligence or fraud, as it is fairly easy to explain why a reasonable person would think it was ok since it was new equipment.

At least, thats how I look at it.
 
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Even if this was the case, pretty much the worst that would likely happen is needing to remove it from your taxes. Its not likely to be claimed as negligence or fraud, as it is fairly easy to explain why a reasonable person would think it was ok since it was new equipment.

At least, thats how I look at it.
Agreed, and this is another area where I feel there is really no question on the matter (but I am not a tax expert, so I only speak for what I would do.) There is no language in the tax code, forms, or instructions that would suggest the residential ITC is limited to a single claim. Any reference to "original install" is clearly referring to the actual equipment and not the "original system".
 
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Here is another article

Adding Solar Panels to an Existing System in 2021 | EnergySage

Incentives
If you’re adding additional panels onto your system, you may not be eligible for some of the same incentives (such as tax credits and rebates) that you claimed when you originally installed your system. Many incentives are only allowed to be claimed once per property, or once per person.
That is not specific to the ITC and may well be true for state/local/utility incentives. For example, the state of MD has a $1,000 grant/rebate for solar, but "An eligible property may receive only one Rebate per technology." So, in adding on, you would not be able to get a second $1,000. (But the program also covers things like geothermal, so you could get another $1,000 by installing that different technology, which is the reason for the wording.)
 
To add to the confusion, I got a call back from the second tax professional and was told it is only once per property per owner and upgrades or additions can't be deducted.

I got one tax pro telling me no and one yes. On the turbotax forum the answer was yes you can claim new equipment but that is from a expert user not a tax pro.

Does anyone know of a CPA who is familiar with the ITC rules, would be curious to get their feedback.
 
@cpa would you be able to provide your opinion on this?

Many others have mentioned above that they believe the ITC can be taken with each new solar system install. I believe this is correct and claimed it on my original 16.5 kW install in 2018 as well as on my additional 4 kW install in 2019.