Thanks again for all the great responses. In this case, I am the homeowner. The renter is installing a solar PV system with my written permission. The renter intends to buy the house from me at some point in the future. However, if they end up buying a different house, the renter intends to uninstall the solar panels and move them to the new house. Again, I have approved this plan in writing.
The renter owns the solar panels and related equipment. They paid for all installation and inspections. It is not a permanent fixture on the house. It can be moved to another location very easily. The installer provided an estimate to do so.
Under these circumstances, I think the renter should be entitled to the credit. A few posts here seem to agree.
I realize this is an unusual situation. So there's not a lot of direct guidance. Documentation within the TurboTax program specifically says that the credit can only be taken by a homeowner. But that's not an authoritative statement. I can't find any official IRS language to support that guidance. If the credit was in fact intended only for homeowners, one would think that would be very clearly stated in the code and in the instructions to Form 5695.
Any additional thoughts on this would be very much appreciated.
