8.3 With the residential ITC gone, how to still capture a 20%–30% federal benefit

Important to understand: even though residential cash purchases no longer get the 30% federal credit, investment-purpose solar installs still qualify for federal tax credits.

The trick that's gaining popularity in 2026: a third-party investor installs the system as an investment, collects the federal credit, and passes the benefit through to the homeowner. The most common structure is a Prepaid PPA (the entire contract's production is paid upfront in lump sum) where the homeowner pays only 70%–80% of the system's market value.

Two important caveats:

1. Ownership only transfers after 6 years (because IRS tax-treatment rules require the asset to remain with the investor for that long). Some homeowners are uncomfortable with that delay.
2. Most such contracts specify ownership transfer at FMV (fair market value) — this is the IRS requirement. But if the contract doesn't cap or constrain how FMV is computed, you may face a large surprise payment at year 6.

If you're shown a contract like this, send it to us — we'll review it free of charge and flag the trap clauses.