Homeowners lease. Businesses own — and the tax code is why.
A homeowner buying solar in 2026 gets no federal credit. A business buying the same equipment stacks a 30% credit with 100% first-year depreciation, then adds Florida's sales-tax exemption and an 80% property-tax exclusion. Model it here, then take it to your CPA.
Four benefits, and one deadline that outranks all of them
30% federal ITC (§48E)
Thirty percent of eligible cost. Projects under 1 MW AC get the full rate automatically — no prevailing-wage or apprenticeship compliance required. Domestic content and energy-community adders are +10 points each.
100% first-year depreciation
Bonus depreciation was restored permanently for property placed in service after Jan 19, 2025. The depreciable basis is reduced by half the credit first (§50(c)(3)) — at a 30% credit you depreciate 85% of cost. Electing out and running 5-year MACRS instead is sometimes the better call.
Florida sales-tax exemption
Solar energy systems and components are exempt from Florida sales and use tax under §212.08(7)(hh). On a $400,000 project that's real money that never enters the proforma if nobody mentions it.
80% commercial property-tax exclusion
Under Fla. Stat. §193.624, 80% of the just value attributable to a renewable energy device is excluded from assessed value on non-residential property. Residential is 100% exempt; commercial is 80%.
The deadline that decides whether any of it applies
The 2025 tax law accelerated the end of the credit for solar and wind specifically. A project that began construction on or before July 4, 2026 keeps the long runway — roughly four years to be placed in service. A project that started after that date must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 or it earns nothing.
That date has passed. So for anything starting now, the real question isn’t “what’s the credit worth” — it’s “can this be energized before the end of 2027,” and whether the EPC can document begin-construction and supply-chain compliance. We ask that before we ask anything else.
The whole picture, not one hero number
Most solar calculators multiply your bill by a savings percentage. This one prices the energy at the rate schedule you'll actually be on after interconnection, keeps demand charges separate, and shows you the after-tax cash flow year by year.
Your annual use suggests roughly 214 kW at SWFL production (~1,400 kWh per kW-year).
How is it mounted?
Cheapest per watt. Needs roof life ≥ system life.
2026 national benchmark for rooftop: $1.40–$2.55/W. Replace with your EPC’s actual quote.
Turnkey cost $292,500 · est. production 210,000 kWh/yr
Net cost after credit + depreciation (est.)
$152,539
about 52% of the $292,500 sticker price.
Simple payback
8.6 yr
Cash-positive in
yr 9
After-tax IRR
11.6%
NPV @ 7.0%
$94,866
Where year-one savings come from
You’re on a demand-metered schedule and crediting $0 of demand savings — which is the honest default for solar alone. If demand charges are a big share of your bill, the conversation you actually want is about storage, not more panels.
What it does to the asset
$16,033 of durable annual operating savings, capitalized at a 6.50% cap rate, is roughly $246,665 of value — more than the $152,539 the system net-costs you.
An argument, not a guarantee. It only holds if your appraiser and lender underwrite the savings as durable — ask them before you count on it.
Estimate only — not tax, legal, or investment advice. Actual benefit is entity-specific and depends on your tax appetite, the final installed cost, your utility’s tariff, and current law (which changed materially in 2025–2026). Solar that began construction after July 4, 2026 generally must be placed in service by Dec 31, 2027 to earn the credit at all. Production, escalation, and cap-rate assumptions are yours to challenge. Confirm every figure with a licensed CPA and Florida counsel before deciding.
Where the usual numbers go wrong
It doesn't use your average rate
Dividing your bill by your kWh gives you a blended number that includes fixed charges and demand charges solar can't touch. The value of a generated kWh is the energy charge on your post-interconnection rate schedule — often much lower than the blended figure a proposal uses.
It credits $0 of demand savings by default
Solar can't reliably shave a 15-minute demand peak; a passing cloud re-sets it, and most tariffs ratchet billing demand to a percentage of your highest peak over the prior eleven months. If a proposal credits big demand savings to panels with no battery, ask exactly how.
It won't value power you can't use
In Florida, production above your own annual consumption cashes out once a year at avoided cost. The model caps credited production at your actual use and tells you when the array is oversized.
If you’re on LCEC, there’s a fourth: interconnecting moves your account onto LCEC’s Net Metering Rider, which is a different rate schedule than the one you’re on today. Here’s what the tariff says →
The tax questions, answered plainly
How much is the federal commercial solar credit in 2026?+
Thirty percent of eligible cost under §48E, and a project under 1 MW AC gets the full rate automatically without meeting prevailing-wage and apprenticeship rules. Domestic content or an energy-community location each add 10 points, so 40% or 50% is possible. The deadline is the part that matters most: solar that began construction after July 4, 2026 generally has to be placed in service by December 31, 2027 to earn the credit at all.
Can a business really deduct the whole system in year one?+
A taxpaying owner can generally expense 100% of the depreciable basis in the first year — bonus depreciation was restored permanently for property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. The basis is first reduced by half the credit under §50(c)(3), so at a 30% credit you depreciate 85% of the cost. Whether that helps depends entirely on whether the entity has the income to absorb it.
What does a nonprofit get?+
Cash. A tax-exempt entity has no liability to shield, so depreciation is worth nothing — but under elective pay (§6417) the credit comes back as an actual payment from the IRS. You have to own the system, pre-register with the IRS well before filing, and pay for the system first. The cash arrives after the return is processed.
Is solar still 5-year property, or did that change?+
Several solar blogs claim the 2025 tax law pushed solar to 20-year depreciation. That's a misreading. The 5-year class was removed only for legacy §48 energy property whose construction began after Dec 31, 2024. New §48E property — which is what a 2026 commercial system is — keeps 5-year MACRS. The distinction is subtle enough that it's worth your CPA confirming it in writing.
What does Florida add?+
No state income tax, so there's no state credit or state depreciation benefit — all of it is federal. Florida does exempt solar equipment from state sales tax under §212.08(7)(hh), and under §193.624 it excludes 80% of the added value from commercial property tax. Those are real, and they're easy to forget in a proforma.
General information, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Federal solar incentives changed materially in 2025–2026 and continue to be interpreted through Treasury and IRS guidance. Benefit is entity-specific and depends on your tax appetite and ownership structure. Confirm every figure with a licensed CPA and Florida counsel before you rely on it. Our full sourcing, including the items we could not independently verify, is documented internally and available on request.
Take real numbers to your CPA
Send us twelve months of bills and we'll build the version of this with your actual tariff, your actual roof, and an EPC's actual price — then you and your accountant can pick it apart.
We compare the numbers. You decide. If solar isn't right for your property, we'll say so.