by Jeff Blyskal

Last updated October 2023

Here are the tax credits and other incentives we could identify for the Boston area. Check with your utility company and dsireusa.org for up-to-date info.

Note that if you lease, rather than buy, incentives usually go to the leasing company that installs and owns the panels on your roof, not you.

Federal tax credit: Uncle Sam will reimburse you 30 percent of what you paid for panels, equipment, storage devices, installation, and permits.

State tax credit: You can get back 15 percent of what you paid for a system, up to $1,000. To calculate system price tags, the state uses total costs minus the 26 percent federal tax credit.

Net metering: If your system produces electricity that you don’t use, it’s pushed onto the grid, your meter spins in reverse and your utility pays you for it at a price slightly less than the full retail rate you pay. These credits don’t expire and roll forward to the next month. But if you’re on a time-of-use rate plan, you get charged higher rates when you buy during peak times but solar-energy producers often get paid lower non-peak rates when they sell.

Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program: Investor-owned electric utilities in Massachusetts (Eversource Energy and National Grid in the Boston area) pay new solar electric system owners incentives based on the amount of energy they generate each month over 10 years. Eversource said its residential customers in the Boston area who enroll in SMART can expect an incentive rate of about $0.07 per kWh of solar production. Higher incentive rates are available for customers on residential assistance rates or with battery storage.

Property tax exemption: Any increase in your home’s value as a result of installing solar panels is exempt from property taxes.

State sales tax exemption: You won’t pay sales tax on your system.