Do you have to be a homeowner to claim a solar investment tax credit? Form 5695 and Title 26 section 25d indicate that you must be a resident no mention of ownership.

[Critter]

You MUST own the home. 

[Critter]

Read the form 5695 instructions carefully...they say you must reduce your basis in the home by the amount of the credit you took...you must own the home for that to happen.

[bradbakke]

Thank you. The sentence indicates that the “owner” can’t increase the basis, for tax purposes, by more than the difference between the original investment and the tax credit taken.  But do you know where the Internal Revenue Code explicitly states that only the owner can claim the tax credit? The word owner seems to be purposely avoided. 

Actually who is the “owner” in the case of a mortgaged home? For example the buyer may have paid 20% but the mortgage holder has paid %80.

[TomD8]

@bradbakke  Whoever's name is on the title owns the home.  The mortgage lender holds a lien on the property, which is not the same as ownership.

Also, this web reference may answer your other questions:  http://solaroutreach.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ResidentialITC_Factsheet_Final.pdf

[bradbakke · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the North Carolina fact sheet.  It states that you do not have to be the homeowner but you must be the owner of the PV system and reside in the home.

[bradbakke]

Actually I found that most recently the 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Act included a five-year extension of the ITC for solar energy projects. The bill extends the 30 percent credit for residential and commercial properties through 2019

[bradbakke]

I don’t know. Stop making your mortgage payments and you’ll see who really owns the property.