Federal ITC 30% (tax credit)
State tax credit: Yes ($5,000)
Net metering (by utility)
There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.
New York is the best place to go solar in the country. Legislators have created the right mix of industry and residential programs to spur huge solar growth, with over two gigawatts installed. Things are looking bright for the future, as the state is on pace for six gigawatts installed by 2025.
Between the New York state solar rebates and federal tax incentives, you could save 40% off the up-front cost of solar, and your panels will pay themselves off in just a few short years, leaving you with free electricity for the next few decades!
Learn what solar incentives are available to New York homeowners
See what New York solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
Find out how much these incentives and/or New York solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in New York
If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.
The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
In New York, utility companies must provide net metering services for residential systems up to 25 kW. Any net excess electricity generation is credited to your next bill at the retail rate. Excess generation is reconciled annually at the avoided-cost rate.
However, solar customers do have to pay a monthly Customer Benefit Charge (CBC) that cannot be offset by solar generation. The customer benefit charge is based on the size of your solar system and your utility company. The CBC will equate to a few extra dollars per month and doesn't drastically impact your solar investment.
However, New York is looking to transition to a new solar billing structure called the Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER), or Value Stack, program. This program seeks to credit solar energy producers more accurately without pushing costs onto non-solar customers.
Through the NY-Sun PV Incentive Program, New York residents statewide are looking at rebate rates of $200 to $400 per kW on solar installations up to 25 kW. That means you can expect a rebate of $1,200-$2,400 on a 6 kW system. Be aware, however, that the incentive values get lower as state solar capacity goals are met. Long Island is already out of funding, so don’t be late to the awesome incentives party if you live in other areas of New York!
In addition to the 30% federal tax credit, you can qualify for a sizable 25% New York solar tax credit. You simply take 25% of your total installation cost (after you take the NY-Sun rebate) and file this handy New York tax form IT-255 to receive the credit.
Be mindful that there’s a cap of $5,000 on this. So, if your cost is more than $20,000, you won't get a tax credit bigger than $5,000 back from the state.
Lawmakers in New York have been doing their best to make going solar easier for residents. In addition to the above solar power rebates and tax credits, adding solar panels to your home is exempt from property tax increases for a solid fifteen years, even though installing solar panels adds roughly 20 times your annual electricity bill savings to your property value. In the case of our 6 kW example, that's about $28,000 of additional value to your home that you don't have to pay.
Also, contrary to other home upgrades like new kitchen stoves or bathroom fixtures, with solar panels in New York, you will not have to pay any sales taxes on your system! That's a bunch of cash you're saving right up front.
NYSERDA offers battery storage incentives for New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and the rest of the state (ROS). The funding is meant to be paired with the NY-Sun rebate outlined above.
As of 2022, there are only single-family residential incentives for battery storage available in Long Island.
The incentive amount is $250/kWh. So, if you install a Tesla Powerwall battery with a capacity of 13.5 kWh, your Powerwall system would be eligible for a rebate of $3,375. Your costs could be even lower if you are able to take the state and federal tax credits.
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 8.6kW system, after 30% federal tax credit
111 solar companies in New York provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.83 101 Reviews
Ridgebury TWP, 3 weeks ago
Positives. Fred McNeal (sales consultant) was my first contact with Paradise Energy Solutions. I've been considering Solar for are home for several years and could not get responses from any solar companies. Hence, I contacted Fred and he immediately reply for us to meet. Fred is very informative and made several trips to the home and we were comfortable deciding to go with Paradise proposal. The start of construction of the system did come with some hic cups. The installation of the metal uprights went well except for one upright went off plum. After the assembly of the frame for the array solar panels it was apparent there would be large dip in a section of the array, and I express a concern this would cause some stress in this area of panels and ask how this could be corrected. I asked if this one cross frame could be raised up to level up this section by drilling holes in upright to correct the dip. At first it was a maybe. This is where I want to mention Troy a installer from the Towanda, PA office. I do not know his last name. Troy worked out a solution that day to correct the dip, so the array was level throughout. Troy was always positive throughout the construction. A great person, professional and always answer questions I would ask. Troy went above and beyond. Also, I want to mention Bryan. Again, I do not know the last name. My understanding Bryan is from the New York office. Bryan was great installer, very friendly and easy to talk too. Troy and Bryan were two main installers. There were other installers for one day to help pull wire and it was great to have them on the site and they were also very professional. Negative. Daniel Trimm(Project Manager). My first interaction with Dan was going over the construction site. Dan walked through and discussed the location of array. In that conversation we talked about laying the conduit and the route to the house. I asked what type of equipment would be use for the trench. Dan said most likely use a trencher and he would be the operator as Paradise has no one else. The second visit by Dan was for the final to say they have been approved to proceed with construction and marked out the location. Again, I asked what type or equipment will be used for the trench to the home and Dan said it would be subcontracted out. Again, I ask what type of equipment will be used and Dan said an excavator. What size bucket would be used and did not answer me well. So, I said would it be a 12” bucket and he said yes. What the sub-contractor used was very large excavator with a 24” wide bucket. A 24 “trench to install a 1 1/4'” conduit. I lost my temper on Dan that day of construction. His arrogance was not welcome in regards the impact this was going to cause me a larger than expected area to clean-up and a expense of topsoil which will be around $1,000 to $1500 dollars, not including grass seed and mulch. All this will depend on how much settling takes place. If a trencher or small excavator with a 12” bucket was used, the clean -up would be easier, the settling would be manageable and the expense much lower. Dan visited the site a couple more times and we did not interact much. Troy and Bryan finished the installation and the next time I saw Dan was a early morning one day. He did not come to house to say he was there. I saw him at the array and on his phone. That day I received an Email from Crystal Bentley (NY Process Manager) for final payment. I then return an Email to Crystal was someone going to review the system with me and show me how to do the monitoring. Crystal replied back Dan would be contacting me for that. Later in the day I received an Email saying he sent me link for connecting for monitoring. This was very disappointing that no one was going to walk us through how to set-up for monitoring and how to understand the monitoring and review the system with us and say it was in operation. Again, for me Dan’s arrogance was very unwarranted. One more negative. On the first visit with Dan for the site he presented an sign off for Srec credits so Paradise could manage and sell the credits. This was new to us and never previously discuss before. This is where Fred McNeal should have given us more insight on the credits and handling of credits. The proposal shows possible yearly credits but did not talk about Paradise managing the credits with 6% or $4.00 minimum fee. Also, the agreement does not say if Paradise will sell credits every year and how will I know how many credits have been earned in a year. I sent an Email to Fred McNeal regarding the sign off asked him to contact me for more understanding and his reply was short and said you can sell the credits on your own. This is true if I clearly understood all this. At this time, I signed off for Paradise to manage the credits for two years. My point of this, the proposal should show this impact with Paradise selling the credits more education on credits. Bottomline Paradise is great choice for Solar system installation. There are other installers, but Paradise is very professional and will stand behind the work.
Read more
Average cost (5kW system)
$16,000 ($3.20 per watt)
Ridgebury TWP, 3 weeks ago
Positives. Fred McNeal (sales consultant) was my first contact with Paradise Energy Solutions. I've been considering Solar for are home for several years and could not get responses from any solar companies. Hence, I contacted Fred and he immediately reply for us to meet. Fred is very informative and made several trips to the home and we were comfortable deciding to go with Paradise proposal. The start of construction of the system did come with some hic cups. The installation of the metal uprights went well except for one upright went off plum. After the assembly of the frame for the array solar panels it was apparent there would be large dip in a section of the array, and I express a concern this would cause some stress in this area of panels and ask how this could be corrected. I asked if this one cross frame could be raised up to level up this section by drilling holes in upright to correct the dip. At first it was a maybe. This is where I want to mention Troy a installer from the Towanda, PA office. I do not know his last name. Troy worked out a solution that day to correct the dip, so the array was level throughout. Troy was always positive throughout the construction. A great person, professional and always answer questions I would ask. Troy went above and beyond. Also, I want to mention Bryan. Again, I do not know the last name. My understanding Bryan is from the New York office. Bryan was great installer, very friendly and easy to talk too. Troy and Bryan were two main installers. There were other installers for one day to help pull wire and it was great to have them on the site and they were also very professional. Negative. Daniel Trimm(Project Manager). My first interaction with Dan was going over the construction site. Dan walked through and discussed the location of array. In that conversation we talked about laying the conduit and the route to the house. I asked what type of equipment would be use for the trench. Dan said most likely use a trencher and he would be the operator as Paradise has no one else. The second visit by Dan was for the final to say they have been approved to proceed with construction and marked out the location. Again, I asked what type or equipment will be used for the trench to the home and Dan said it would be subcontracted out. Again, I ask what type of equipment will be used and Dan said an excavator. What size bucket would be used and did not answer me well. So, I said would it be a 12” bucket and he said yes. What the sub-contractor used was very large excavator with a 24” wide bucket. A 24 “trench to install a 1 1/4'” conduit. I lost my temper on Dan that day of construction. His arrogance was not welcome in regards the impact this was going to cause me a larger than expected area to clean-up and a expense of topsoil which will be around $1,000 to $1500 dollars, not including grass seed and mulch. All this will depend on how much settling takes place. If a trencher or small excavator with a 12” bucket was used, the clean -up would be easier, the settling would be manageable and the expense much lower. Dan visited the site a couple more times and we did not interact much. Troy and Bryan finished the installation and the next time I saw Dan was a early morning one day. He did not come to house to say he was there. I saw him at the array and on his phone. That day I received an Email from Crystal Bentley (NY Process Manager) for final payment. I then return an Email to Crystal was someone going to review the system with me and show me how to do the monitoring. Crystal replied back Dan would be contacting me for that. Later in the day I received an Email saying he sent me link for connecting for monitoring. This was very disappointing that no one was going to walk us through how to set-up for monitoring and how to understand the monitoring and review the system with us and say it was in operation. Again, for me Dan’s arrogance was very unwarranted. One more negative. On the first visit with Dan for the site he presented an sign off for Srec credits so Paradise could manage and sell the credits. This was new to us and never previously discuss before. This is where Fred McNeal should have given us more insight on the credits and handling of credits. The proposal shows possible yearly credits but did not talk about Paradise managing the credits with 6% or $4.00 minimum fee. Also, the agreement does not say if Paradise will sell credits every year and how will I know how many credits have been earned in a year. I sent an Email to Fred McNeal regarding the sign off asked him to contact me for more understanding and his reply was short and said you can sell the credits on your own. This is true if I clearly understood all this. At this time, I signed off for Paradise to manage the credits for two years. My point of this, the proposal should show this impact with Paradise selling the credits more education on credits. Bottomline Paradise is great choice for Solar system installation. There are other installers, but Paradise is very professional and will stand behind the work.
4.82 264 Reviews
Ed M., over 1 month
Installation was prompt, fast, extremely neat and professional. We are very happy with our system so far.
Read more
Average cost (5kW system)
$13,750 ($2.75 per watt)
Ed M., over 1 month
Installation was prompt, fast, extremely neat and professional. We are very happy with our system so far.
4.81 221 Reviews
Daniel Sullivan, 1 week ago
Had a great experience with Lenney in the Long Beach office. All the work was done quickly and professionally while also saving us money.
Read more
Daniel Sullivan, 1 week ago
Had a great experience with Lenney in the Long Beach office. All the work was done quickly and professionally while also saving us money.
4.79 104 Reviews
RK, over 1 month
EmPower works with SunPower, that matters, but the quality of installer matters more. On that point, EmPower has been first class. About 4 months from initial assessment to completion. Every step clear, professional, and responsive.
Read more
RK, over 1 month
EmPower works with SunPower, that matters, but the quality of installer matters more. On that point, EmPower has been first class. About 4 months from initial assessment to completion. Every step clear, professional, and responsive.
4.73 508 Reviews
Christopher Borrego, 4 days ago
Excellent interpersonal skills, wonderful job
Read more
Christopher Borrego, 4 days ago
Excellent interpersonal skills, wonderful job
4.72 78 Reviews
Julian P, over 1 month
I had installed solar panels in my previous home about 10 years ago and when I moved into my new house, I figured I’d use the same installer—SunRun. After wasting weeks dealing with their red-tape, high price quotes and unaccommodating staff, I decided to find a local company who wanted my business and was easier to deal with. I checked out more than a dozen companies before finding SunBlue and was pleasantly surprised. Their prices are competitive, their staff is courteous and the owner, Chris Hale, is a great guy who is exceptionally knowledgeable. I had them install a 55 panel system on my home and the process was smooth from beginning to end. The quality of their work was excellent and they handled every aspect of the job including permits, inspections, etc.. My panels are now offsetting 100% of my electricity usage so I’m enjoying huge savings on my ConEd bill. If you’re thinking of going solar, don’t waste your time shopping around—just go with SunBlue and get the job done right.
Read more
Average cost (5kW system)
$17,150 ($3.43 per watt)
Julian P, over 1 month
I had installed solar panels in my previous home about 10 years ago and when I moved into my new house, I figured I’d use the same installer—SunRun. After wasting weeks dealing with their red-tape, high price quotes and unaccommodating staff, I decided to find a local company who wanted my business and was easier to deal with. I checked out more than a dozen companies before finding SunBlue and was pleasantly surprised. Their prices are competitive, their staff is courteous and the owner, Chris Hale, is a great guy who is exceptionally knowledgeable. I had them install a 55 panel system on my home and the process was smooth from beginning to end. The quality of their work was excellent and they handled every aspect of the job including permits, inspections, etc.. My panels are now offsetting 100% of my electricity usage so I’m enjoying huge savings on my ConEd bill. If you’re thinking of going solar, don’t waste your time shopping around—just go with SunBlue and get the job done right.
4.72 130 Reviews
Tim P, 6 days ago
If you looking to install solar just call Joe Galluzzo @ Power Solutions! I took the time and got estimates from 9 different companies and Power Solutions was FAR had the best prices and warranty. Joe Galluzzo was there for us through out the whole process to answer any questions. The company was incredible from start to finish. My production manager Joanie Okula kept me updated at every phase. The installation was fast and very neat. All wires were installed in the attic not running across the roof like most other houses that I see. Now we are enjoying free power and a $18 PSEG bill. I highly recommend calling Joe Galluzzo before you make a decision. Tim P.
Read more
Tim P, 6 days ago
If you looking to install solar just call Joe Galluzzo @ Power Solutions! I took the time and got estimates from 9 different companies and Power Solutions was FAR had the best prices and warranty. Joe Galluzzo was there for us through out the whole process to answer any questions. The company was incredible from start to finish. My production manager Joanie Okula kept me updated at every phase. The installation was fast and very neat. All wires were installed in the attic not running across the roof like most other houses that I see. Now we are enjoying free power and a $18 PSEG bill. I highly recommend calling Joe Galluzzo before you make a decision. Tim P.
4.71 148 Reviews
Kevin, 5 days ago
After less than a year after our installation was complete our system failed and stopped generating during peak season for generation. It’s now been offline for Almost two months and we can’t even get a time scheduled for someone to look at our system. Their priority seems to be new customers and not supporting current ones that they already got heir money from. Please consider other true local options or be at risk of paying for something that does not work.
Read more
Kevin, 5 days ago
After less than a year after our installation was complete our system failed and stopped generating during peak season for generation. It’s now been offline for Almost two months and we can’t even get a time scheduled for someone to look at our system. Their priority seems to be new customers and not supporting current ones that they already got heir money from. Please consider other true local options or be at risk of paying for something that does not work.
4.71 26 Reviews
cheryl, over 1 month
I spoke with Dov at Powerlutions regarding our solar contract. He was very knowledgeable, patient and extremely pleasant to work with. The installation team was very respectful and professional, it was very impressive to watch them do the job. I am looking forward to geeting good use out of our new solar panels. Thank you Dov and Powerlutions for an excellent experience.
Read more
cheryl, over 1 month
I spoke with Dov at Powerlutions regarding our solar contract. He was very knowledgeable, patient and extremely pleasant to work with. The installation team was very respectful and professional, it was very impressive to watch them do the job. I am looking forward to geeting good use out of our new solar panels. Thank you Dov and Powerlutions for an excellent experience.
4.71 65 Reviews
David Hoover, over 1 month
I ws very pleased with all aspects of our purchase and installation of solar panels for our home. From the initial sales, through installation and activation, CIR staff were always polite, professional and competent.
Read more
David Hoover, over 1 month
I ws very pleased with all aspects of our purchase and installation of solar panels for our home. From the initial sales, through installation and activation, CIR staff were always polite, professional and competent.
For more information about going solar near where you live, check out the following resources:
NYSERDA - NY SUN Smart Energy Loan Program