Thank you for asking and congrats on getting your solar! Yes, you are right. Energy credit is non-refundable credit so if you don't use it all the first year, it can be carried over to the next year. If you want to get max credit, you want to make sure you have eough tax liability since the energy credit reduces your tax liability. Here is an article for your reference that lower withholding or change W-4 allowance will NOT maximize solar tax credit .
If you really want to max out the credit for the first year, you can consider increase your taxable income, such as making more money from W-2, investment, converting traditioanl IRA to Roth IRA, distributing retirement money, and etc. However, please keep in mind, your solar credit is still there and can be rolled over to the following year. Do not distribute your retirement fund just to maximize your solar credit for the first year. Always begin with end and plan accordingly according to your financial situations. You may use our Tax Calculator for tax planning purpose and hope you find it helpful.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions. We appreciate for your continuous support.
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