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I've been doing as much research as I can on this topic and it seems some folks say the 30% federal credit is only available on owner occupied residences and other folks say that residential rental property is eligible under the ITR/Sec 48. The folks saying Sec 48 is not available to me say that Sec 48 only applies to Commercial or Businesses. Does anyone have a definitive answer to this question?
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Yes. A qualified tax professional. -
As a non-tax professional, I cannot answer any tax questions.
Anyone ( non-tax professional ) who does: a) can't be held to the answer b) can be sued by the state for impersonation or practicing with out a license.Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-ListerComment
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Don't like my responses, don't read'em.
Usually, you want nice - you pay nice. Look around and stop hanging with dumb people.
My tax professional is one of the most intelligent and heads' up situationally aware people I've ever met. She's also my ex.
Question for you: If you know more than the tax pros, why are you asking tax questions at all, much less on a forum that deals in alternate energy ? See any incongruity in your question ?Comment
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It looks like you can. Here is a link that describes your situation.
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Better if you ask professional in this field, it's not an easy one. I am trying to get solar panels for our family French Riviera property https://tranio.com/france/cote_d_azur/ and we have to deal with local laws which and taxes which in my opinion are a bit strange. They have there own understanding of what you can install and not.Comment
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IMO it's reasonable to ask a tax question on a forum where that forum is concentrated on the particular area that the tax laws are related to.
It's not like he's asking about the safe harbor rules for income tax penalties. He's asking about tax treatment of a solar installation. And the title of this forum IS "solarpaneltalk".
Now, for the OP - I don't have a definitive answer for you.
DIscoDan already has what I think is a relevant link - so I'd read that article.
And I'd encourage you to do your own searches to see what you come up with.
IMO tax professionals aren't going to know this area offhand, and most aren't going to spend time researching it for a relatively low-value client. (maybe they would look at it now, since it's not a very busy time for them)
I don't know what state you're in Mike, but in my state you would have to actually be practicing without a license to get in trouble with the state. I am not a lawyer, nor tax preparer, nor claiming to be so. And I have no concerns about giving the advice I've given above and the state coming after me. If a prosecutor did try, I don't think it'd get very far, as it's no different than a conversation that anyone might have about taxes while sitting at a bar with their friends having a beer.Anyone ( non-tax professional ) who does: a) can't be held to the answer b) can be sued by the state for impersonation or practicing with out a license.
But the first part of what you said is true - I can't be held to the answer. I'm not providing any guarantee, and if I'm wrong the OP isn't going to be able to successfully sue me. (And the OP can't use me as a shield of "professional advice" if the IRS disagrees with them as my advice is obviously not from a tax professional.)
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I have taken a complete write off (accelerated depreciation) when I purchased two photo voltaic systems for a rental property. In one case the system was new, had been purchased for my residence,, but then I got divorced so I purchased it in my LLC where I owned the rental property. Several years later I purchased a used system and wrote that off as a repair and maintenance expense. In both cases my accountant had advised me that I could take one time capital expenses below a certain amount and write them off in one year. That is an alternative to taking the investment credit depending on your tax situation. The trade off between the investment tax credit and a complete write off in the first situation was based on my unique circumstances that year. In the second case, since it was used, I would not have been entitled to a tax credit for a used system.9 kW solar, 42kWh LFP storage. EV owner since 2012Comment
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Many tax professionals wouldn't know the answer to his original question and their interpretation of the law would be just as good as the average poster here if we read the tax code. I went ahead and did and it is not absolutely clear. I think that it is fair to ask a question here over a local tax professional because we have people here that might have installed solar on a rental property that they have owned and went through the tax process themselves. I know tax professionals that didn't know that you could even take a credit for installing an EV charger. Things that are not commonly encountered are sometimes best to research yourself. Most tax software these days will give you the answer that you are looking for. TurboTax will lead you through a series of questions and will determine if you can get the credit. However you are depending on TurboTax giving you the correct information. HR Block actually did something incorrectly with EV credits last year. All the tax software was waiting for the 2017 EV form to be updated so you could file. EV owners were impatient and lots of people on forums said they used HR Block to get back their return earlier. HR Block was using the 2016 form to do this.Comment
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Reread my question in the context of joe12pack's statement that "Most tax professionals are dumber than a box of rocks and know even less than I do". My question was: If that's true, why ask a question on a solar energy forum, particularly if you already know more than most tax professionals. Seemed a logical question to me.
But no matter. I'll agree that some, maybe even most tax pros may not know the in/outs of tax regs. for alternate energy. And, I'd like to think I'm a big fan of self reliance to the greatest degree possible - maybe more than most folks. But I'd also suggest that most tax pros have more than the average bear's ability. I can also call the IRS and ask the source and maybe find an answer that way or at least begin the process of getting a ruling on my question.
One of the assumptions in going to a pro is that if they do not know the answer to a question, they have the experience, knowledge and ability to get an answer, that is, their knowledge is not static. I've actually stumped my former wife (now my CPA accountant) a couple of times with tax questions. She actually had to do a bit of research to get an answer she was comfortable with. What a concept !
On getting professional tax advice, you may pay for the advice, and it may still be not the best, or may be downright wrong. But at least such advice is traceable, defensible and usable if an item on a return is challenged by the IRS, with the probability of getting reasonably accurate and researched and the probability of that information being correct most likely being higher than what effectively amounts to the equivalent of conversation over a beer from what is unvetted and non traceable blather from some semi anonymous source on a mostly public forum.Comment
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It was on form 8911.
The credit ended 12/31/2017. (it had ended at end of 2016 and then was extended through 2017)
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Oh, OK. I installed mine in 2018.
It was on form 8911.
The credit ended 12/31/2017. (it had ended at end of 2016 and then was extended through 2017)
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