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
107 solar companies in New York provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.84 214 Reviews
mcpja01, over 1 month
I just received my first electric bill after 1 full month on the solar system designed and installed by Harvest Power Solar. My total kwh billed was 0, and this is in a month when the sun is low in the sky. The total experience was a pleasure, Mark Lieberman, and the staff at Harvest Power were professional, attentive, and very helpful. Mark designed a system that uses all the best components and technology to meet my families current and future electrical needs at a cost that was lower then my average monthly electric bill (with current incentives). Harvest Power also took care of all the paper work, and the installers were polite, and neat, they actually asked me how I would prefer the wiring to be run, and if I was OK with the location selected for the controller. I can't express how satisfied I am with the company and work done by Harvest Power. So glad I chose to go with a local company instead of a national conglomerate. 5 stars all day, all categories. Highly recommend, what a gr8 experience. Jim
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mcpja01, over 1 month
I just received my first electric bill after 1 full month on the solar system designed and installed by Harvest Power Solar. My total kwh billed was 0, and this is in a month when the sun is low in the sky. The total experience was a pleasure, Mark Lieberman, and the staff at Harvest Power were professional, attentive, and very helpful. Mark designed a system that uses all the best components and technology to meet my families current and future electrical needs at a cost that was lower then my average monthly electric bill (with current incentives). Harvest Power also took care of all the paper work, and the installers were polite, and neat, they actually asked me how I would prefer the wiring to be run, and if I was OK with the location selected for the controller. I can't express how satisfied I am with the company and work done by Harvest Power. So glad I chose to go with a local company instead of a national conglomerate. 5 stars all day, all categories. Highly recommend, what a gr8 experience. Jim
4.84 87 Reviews
Ronald, over 1 month
Great company. Awesome to work with
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Average cost (5kW system)
$16,000 ($3.20 per watt)
Ronald, over 1 month
Great company. Awesome to work with
4.81 101 Reviews
Faisal Khan, over 1 month
We lost power this past Christmas weekend during the big storm system that came through the US. The system Empower Solar installed worked incredibly well!! Thank you
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Faisal Khan, over 1 month
We lost power this past Christmas weekend during the big storm system that came through the US. The system Empower Solar installed worked incredibly well!! Thank you
4.81 262 Reviews
Andrew, over 1 month
I had my second install with Sunation yesterday at my new house. The team during and before the install were very helpful, professional and courteous. Gina was great! She was always there to answer my questions in detail through out the entire process. Anytime I emailed her I always received a professional and courteous response! During the install Joe did a great job! Joe was also at my first install and I knew I was in good hands when I saw he was part of the crew! Everyone in this company from Rohan my sales representative to Gina to Joe to Tammy truly appreciates their customers! They make the process of going solar as stress free as possible! If you are thinking of going solar go with Sunation! You will defiantly appreciate their quality of work and attention to Customer Service! Thank you Sunation for your attention to quality work and excellent Customer Service!
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Average cost (5kW system)
$13,750 ($2.75 per watt)
Andrew, over 1 month
I had my second install with Sunation yesterday at my new house. The team during and before the install were very helpful, professional and courteous. Gina was great! She was always there to answer my questions in detail through out the entire process. Anytime I emailed her I always received a professional and courteous response! During the install Joe did a great job! Joe was also at my first install and I knew I was in good hands when I saw he was part of the crew! Everyone in this company from Rohan my sales representative to Gina to Joe to Tammy truly appreciates their customers! They make the process of going solar as stress free as possible! If you are thinking of going solar go with Sunation! You will defiantly appreciate their quality of work and attention to Customer Service! Thank you Sunation for your attention to quality work and excellent Customer Service!
4.76 140 Reviews
Black Lab Farm, 2 weeks ago
Suncommon just finished a roof mount installation on my pole barn in late January. They provided recommendations in the design phase of the pole barn so this has been in the works for quite a while. They actually redesigned again as they started due to the high winds that we get on the hilltop site. They are focused on doing it right even though this slowed them down. January install provided challenges as well but safety was first on icy metal roof. And, big in my book, an absolutely neat work site. What fun to have all my heat pumps and heated floors going and still see the meter spinning backwards. Experienced local crews, electrical and install, made for an easy (for me) experience. Would definitely use again.
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Black Lab Farm, 2 weeks ago
Suncommon just finished a roof mount installation on my pole barn in late January. They provided recommendations in the design phase of the pole barn so this has been in the works for quite a while. They actually redesigned again as they started due to the high winds that we get on the hilltop site. They are focused on doing it right even though this slowed them down. January install provided challenges as well but safety was first on icy metal roof. And, big in my book, an absolutely neat work site. What fun to have all my heat pumps and heated floors going and still see the meter spinning backwards. Experienced local crews, electrical and install, made for an easy (for me) experience. Would definitely use again.
4.72 127 Reviews
JimF, over 1 month
We went through the whole process and were not impressed. Perhaps Sun Nation is better. The sales person was great, but it ended there, The installers were the B- team. They let a roll or wire fall on our car's rear window. Then they said Safelite was on the way only to find out that was not true. The manager arrived and said they could not come until Monday or Wednesday (this was Friday). Since I needed my car I said Monday. Then I found out that they could not get my window until Wednesday. I needed my car to get to work! They did clean my car, but there was glass all over my driveway that me and my wife were cleaning for days. The problem was that this was the Friday after Thanksgiving. Don't let them install on a day after a holiday. Even the manger said his team failed solar 101 by not telling us to move our car and they did not offer anything to make us whole. Stage two: we were looking to pay our bill they sent the bill and we gave them all our information but because apparently we needed to alert our bank that the amount would be okay it did not go through. Did they contact us - no! Instead they sent the same bill making us feel that we were at fault. We had to reach out to them and get this corrected. Last we had the final walk through and the young women that came was very nice and assured us that she was part of the service team and things would be different. Yes, two days later I had a problem with connection to the grid. So, I called the service team twice, and they never got back to me! I don't know where to turn. Definitely not LI Power Solutions. Not a good experience!!! Be forewarned, look elsewhere!
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JimF, over 1 month
We went through the whole process and were not impressed. Perhaps Sun Nation is better. The sales person was great, but it ended there, The installers were the B- team. They let a roll or wire fall on our car's rear window. Then they said Safelite was on the way only to find out that was not true. The manager arrived and said they could not come until Monday or Wednesday (this was Friday). Since I needed my car I said Monday. Then I found out that they could not get my window until Wednesday. I needed my car to get to work! They did clean my car, but there was glass all over my driveway that me and my wife were cleaning for days. The problem was that this was the Friday after Thanksgiving. Don't let them install on a day after a holiday. Even the manger said his team failed solar 101 by not telling us to move our car and they did not offer anything to make us whole. Stage two: we were looking to pay our bill they sent the bill and we gave them all our information but because apparently we needed to alert our bank that the amount would be okay it did not go through. Did they contact us - no! Instead they sent the same bill making us feel that we were at fault. We had to reach out to them and get this corrected. Last we had the final walk through and the young women that came was very nice and assured us that she was part of the service team and things would be different. Yes, two days later I had a problem with connection to the grid. So, I called the service team twice, and they never got back to me! I don't know where to turn. Definitely not LI Power Solutions. Not a good experience!!! Be forewarned, look elsewhere!
4.72 77 Reviews
Mario D, 1 day ago
SunBlue was professional. The setup was quick and professionally done. I'm an electrical engineer, so I was checked the work done - and was quite happy with all of it. Their quote was priced competitively, and the team is very friendly and easy to work with. They also did a great job handling to city bureaucracy, so that process was very hands off for me. Sales agent also had great hands on knowledge of the system and tech (not common among solar sales people), and also understood the financials involved.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$17,150 ($3.43 per watt)
Mario D, 1 day ago
SunBlue was professional. The setup was quick and professionally done. I'm an electrical engineer, so I was checked the work done - and was quite happy with all of it. Their quote was priced competitively, and the team is very friendly and easy to work with. They also did a great job handling to city bureaucracy, so that process was very hands off for me. Sales agent also had great hands on knowledge of the system and tech (not common among solar sales people), and also understood the financials involved.
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.
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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.
4.68 63 Reviews
Andy C, over 1 month
Cory's crew installed an array for us at the end of September. The crew was very respectful and courteous and did an absolutely great job, couldnt be happier. The system passed inspection without any issues and I would recommend the company to anyone interested!
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Andy C, over 1 month
Cory's crew installed an array for us at the end of September. The crew was very respectful and courteous and did an absolutely great job, couldnt be happier. The system passed inspection without any issues and I would recommend the company to anyone interested!
4.67 35 Reviews
Bill Henry, over 1 month
Hi my name is Bill Henry, I am a Renewable Energy Advocate. Our home was one of the first in Erie County NY to be powered by Solar PV back in 2007. The Company that installed it was Solar Liberty. I chose to use them back then because they were the only local company in this area and I felt that was important. The system that was installed has worked flawlessly for over 12 years with only 1 minor warranty problem in which I called and Solar Liberty replaced the defect panel the next day! This company is remarkable to deal with. In 2019 we decided to add more solar panels to our system because we intend to charge an electric car in the future. After once again checking out other solar installers we went with Solar Liberty. Their pricing was better, their exceptional staff is very friendly and Knowledgeable. The people that did the install were courteous and professional, the workers were also local. I have never worked for this company and none of my relatives do either, this is a complete unbiased review If you thinking about Solar PV this company is the best choice and only choice. Any Questions feel free to contact me. Bill Henry wjhenrysr@verizon.net
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Bill Henry, over 1 month
Hi my name is Bill Henry, I am a Renewable Energy Advocate. Our home was one of the first in Erie County NY to be powered by Solar PV back in 2007. The Company that installed it was Solar Liberty. I chose to use them back then because they were the only local company in this area and I felt that was important. The system that was installed has worked flawlessly for over 12 years with only 1 minor warranty problem in which I called and Solar Liberty replaced the defect panel the next day! This company is remarkable to deal with. In 2019 we decided to add more solar panels to our system because we intend to charge an electric car in the future. After once again checking out other solar installers we went with Solar Liberty. Their pricing was better, their exceptional staff is very friendly and Knowledgeable. The people that did the install were courteous and professional, the workers were also local. I have never worked for this company and none of my relatives do either, this is a complete unbiased review If you thinking about Solar PV this company is the best choice and only choice. Any Questions feel free to contact me. Bill Henry wjhenrysr@verizon.net
For more information about going solar near where you live, check out the following resources:
NYSERDA - NY SUN Smart Energy Loan Program