by Jeff Blyskal

Last updated October 2023

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

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

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 its retail rate. But even if you produce a lot more electricity than you use, you won’t get rich as a solar-electricity generator: Any credits you build up over a year expire at the end of your annual billing cycle, and you get paid nothing for that surplus.

Sales tax exemption: 100 percent exemption for solar energy systems producing up to 100 kilowatts (the vast majority of residential installations do).