Did you pay for the solar system in 2016? Was the system active in 2016? If so, then yes assuming the requirements below are met.
Credits for approved solar installations
Installing alternative energy equipment in your home can qualify you for a credit equal to 30% of your total cost. The credit is available through the end of 2019. After that, the percentage steps down each year and then stops at the end of 2021.
Qualifying equipment includes solar-powered units that generate electricity or heat water. The credit is only available for improvements you make to your residence. This can apply to a second residence as well.
As a credit, you take the amount directly off your tax payment, rather than as a deduction from your taxable income. Other than the cost of the system, there's no limit to the dollar amount of the credit.
Claiming solar credits for rental property
You can't claim a credit for installing solar power at rental properties you own.
The exception is if you also live in the house for part of the year, and use it as a rental when you're away. You'll have to reduce the credit for a vacation home, rental or otherwise, to reflect the time you're not there. If you live there for three months a year, for instance, you can only claim 25 percent of the credit: If the system cost $10,000, the 30 percent credit would be $3,000, and you could claim a quarter of that, or $750.
Filing requirements for solar credits
To claim the credit, you must file IRS Form 5695 as part of your tax return; you calculate the credit on the form, and then enter the result on your 1040.
If you end up with a bigger credit than you have income tax due -- a $3,000 credit on a $2,500 tax bill, for instance -- you can't use the credit to get money back from the IRS. Instead, you can carry the credit over to the following tax year. Energy Star states that you should be able to carry the credit over as far as 2016 if need be.
