Full Title: Property Taxes and Solar PV Systems: Policies, Practices, and Issues
Author(s): Justin Barnes, Chad Laurent, Jayson Uppal, Chelsea Barnes & Amy Heinemann
Publisher(s): SunShot, North Carolina Solar Center, Meister Consultants Group
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
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Description (excerpt):
Property taxes represent a potentially significant cost for solar photovoltaic (PV) system owners. Many U.S. states have adopted policies specifically addressing how solar PV systems should be valued for property tax purposes. However, other states have not adopted such policies, and even explicit policies sometimes fail to fully address the myriad of different circumstances present in the current PV market landscape, or give rise to additional questions and problems of their own. The frequent lack of clarity presents challenges for both owners of PV systems and government officials involved in the administration of property taxes, as each seeks to ascertain the appropriate treatment for solar PV systems and understand the implications it holds. This report investigates current state and local property taxation practices as they apply to solar PV systems, as well as the various issues associated with assessing and taxing them under PV-specific and general property tax laws. It concludes with recommendations for increasing the clarity, transparency, and predictability of the property tax policies and practices with respect to solar PV systems, and the methods that may be employed towards this end.