American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Helps Californians Convert to Solar Power
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law on February 17, 2009 which provides tax credits and grants for installing solar.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 extended many consumer tax incentives originally introduced in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT) and amended in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343).
The bill extends the 30% Residential Solar Investment Tax Credit (IR Code §25D) for residential solar instalations for eight years through December 31, 2016. It also removes the cap on qualified solar electric installation expenditures from $2,000, effective for systems placed in service after December 31,2008.
The bill allows individual taxpayers to use the credit to offset AMT liability, and to carry unused credits forward to the next succeeding taxable year. The $2,000 monetary cap on solar water heating property was not lifted and remains in effect.
