We have solar energy installed in our house, and at times, it automatically sells excess power back to the energy provider. Can I categorize this as an investment expense

[bennymcherian1]

We have solar energy installed in our house, and at times, it automatically sells excess power back to the energy provider. Can I categorize this as an investment expense?

[ThomasM125]

No, for a couple of reasons. For one, you are not generating income so there is no income to deduct the expense from. You may be getting a credit on your electric bill, but that is a reduction in your utility bill which is a non-deductible expense.

Also, you likely got an energy credit when you installed the solar energy equipment, and if so you can't use the same expense to generate a tax deduction, as you already used it to generate the tax credit.