Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Solar and tax breaks

[Philip Semanchuk (philip]

> On Apr 16, 2026, at 1:57 PM, Tom Carpenter via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> We are talking about expanding our solar array here at Skagit Commons in WA, 
> and we are wondering if any other cohousing org has been successful in 
> claiming the tax credits which are still (for the time being) in effect for 
> certain enterprises, including non-profits. We are classified as an HOA and 
> are scratching our heads about how to take advantage of this tax credit, 
> which would make a huge difference in our decision to proceed or not.

Hi Tom,
We here at Pacifica Cohousing in Carrboro, NC have been thinking about and 
exploring this for years, and haven’t been able to find a way to take advantage 
of the federal tax credit. I’m not a tax accountant, but my understanding is 
that in this context an entity (like a cohousing HOA) is either non-profit or 
for-profit. Those are the only two choices. 

Under this scheme, our HOA is a for-profit entity, and we are eligible for the 
tax credits. However, our income is nominal, so we pay less than $100 in tax 
each year. As a result, the tax credit is basically meaningless to us. If for 
example we got an $8k tax credit and paid $100 a year in tax, it would take 80 
years to enjoy the full benefit of the tax credit. 

Non-profits have much more attractive options, but we’re not a non-profit, and 
reorganizing ourselves to be a non-profit would incur both immediate and 
ongoing expenses that make it unappealing. 

There’s a few companies that try to solve this problem by offering a deal where 
they buy and install the solar panels (and therefore enjoy the tax credit), 
while the HOA gets some benefit for leasing the roof space (usually some free 
electricity). Sometimes the solar panels become the property of the HOA after 
some time. I’ve only looked into one of these and it didn’t look appealing 
financially. 

I’d love to hear about other options. I’m frustrated that we haven’t been able 
to find a way to make this work financially. We have a great roof for solar.

Cheers
Philip