Internal Revenue Service Releases Guidance for Securing Tax Breaks for Solar Companies

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released guidance for solar companies to help them secure tax breaks. Solar developers can claim up to a 30 percent investment tax credit if they invest a minimum of five percent of the total anticipated cost of their project, or make a sizable start to the physical work of the project by the close of 2019.

Earlier this year, President Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar materials. At the time, this decision was widely contested amongst those in the solar power industry. There was a fear that the tariffs would significantly raise the costs of solar materials for those interested in installing solar panels on their homes, which would consequently serve as a deterrent to switching to solar power. However, last month several international and domestic solar companies announced they would be building factories in the U.S. Hanwah Q Cells announced it will be building a factory in Georgia, Chinese company JingkoSolar Holding announced it will be building a factory in Florida, and U.S. companies SunPower Corp. and First Solar Inc. stated their intentions to increase production in Oregon and Ohio.

To view the full IRS guidance, click here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-18-59.pdf