Hi folks - We're looking at getting solar installed on our home for many reasons. We will be going the financing route (3.24%, 12 years) again, for many reasons. The financing through our state employees credit union is set up so you don't pay interest on the amount of the 26% solar tax credit (in this case, ~$6700) as long as you pay that amount in full within 18 months, and the monthly payment is based only on the remaining 74% of the project. So monthly payment is actually less than our current electric bill, and will drop off after 12 years at the most but we intend to pay off earlier so we will have no monthly electric bill (besides the fees associated with net metering) for the remaining life of the solar panals - it's a pretty nice deal. I'm trying to understand the implication of the (non-refundable) solar tax credit on our taxes. Our taxable take home will be around $70k for 2020, so 12% bracket I think (tax owed = ~$5k). We won't itemize, and have two children so we get the standard deduction of $24,800 + $4,000 child credit + I think a $200 child care credit (not sure if that is only considered if you itemize). As mentioned, the estimated solar tax credit is $6700 (26% of the project). How does this play out in our taxes? I don't fully understand the non-refundable vs. partially refundable (which I think the child care credit is...refundable up to $2800?). Just wanting to see what our tax return would look like come Feb 2021 to see if we'd use savings to pay that 26% of the loan off, or if we'd be actually expecting $ back from our taxes that could be put towards it. I have no formal tax training so appreciate any clear, layman's explanation you can provide! Thanks so much!
