Solar panels

[linda2]

Can a taxpayer take a residential energy credit for solar panels installed by a company at no cost to them?  

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Did they pay for the panels and just got the labor free?

[IRonMaN]

Yes

$0.00 X 30% = $0.00 tax credit.

[BobKamman]

So what do a company’s marketers and salespeople mean when they say ‘free solar panels’? Usually, they are referring to solar leases and power purchase agreements (PPA’s). Under these solar financing arrangements, a solar company will put a solar system on your roof at no up-front cost to you. This sounds great – you get to say that your home is powered by clean energy, and can even point to the solar panels on your roof to prove it.

But the reality is that you do not technically own the system, and the solar energy the panels produce is not free. Under solar lease agreements, ownership is retained by the solar company, and you pay for the electricity it produces. In essence, the company has built a small power plant on your roof and is selling you the electricity.

https://news.energysage.com/free-solar-panels-really-free/

[linda2]

They did not pay for anything.  From all of the answers, it sounds as if they cannot take the credit.  Thanks for the help.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

If they paid nothing, then there's nothing to take credit on.