Read a recent article on solar carports and tax credit at Solar Reviews, with the very click friendly title of "Are Solar Carports Worth It, And Can You Qualify For The Solar Tax Credit? - the answer from the very nice "Web Content Specialist" who wrote the article was basically, "Yes", solar carports do qualify for the tax credit. Ok, so feel that there should be some caveat to that. Solar carports can qualify for the tax credit, but may not. Word of advice, if you are going to the solar carport way you really need to speak to your solar installer and all the other contractors who may be involved. As to our understanding, if you build a very fancy gazebo or pergola, that part of the construction may not qualify. The parts of the solar installation that are required for the solar system to generated energy do qualify. This is in some way arguing semantics, obviously if your pergola or gazebo is structurally supporting the solar panels, you could easily argue that it is part and parcel of the solar design, but the IRS may not see it that way. You should be very careful as to what you include and don't include in that quote for the tax credit, trying to slip in a BBQ and claiming it's part of the solar array is a big no-no... having some very nice wooden beams and perhaps some sort of a trellis system that also acts as a shear wall might be a different story.
We are NOT accountants and cannot and will not give you advice on claiming your tax credit. If you're thinking of going the solar carport route we strongly suggest you talk to a tax professional.
