Riverview, FL Solar Panels

Florida’s Property Tax Exemption for renewable energy removes the added value of your solar system from your property tax assessment. For residential properties, 100% of your solar system’s value is excluded from your home’s assessed value. For commercial properties, 80% of the system’s value is excluded. This means you won’t pay higher property taxes simply because you’ve added solar panels to your home or business.

To qualify, your solar equipment must be installed on or after January 1, 2013 for residential properties, or January 1, 2018 for commercial properties. The exemption covers solar panels, inverters, batteries, mounting equipment, and other essential system components. This benefit continues for as long as you own the system and remains in effect through December 31, 2037. The exemption applies automatically when your property is assessed—you simply need to ensure your solar installation is properly documented with your local property appraiser’s office.

Florida’s Sales Tax Exemption eliminates the state’s sales tax (currently 6% plus any local taxes) on solar energy systems and all their components. This means when you purchase solar panels, inverters, batteries, mounting equipment, and other essential system parts, you won’t pay any Florida sales tax on these items. The exemption applies to both complete solar installations and individual components, whether you’re buying equipment for a new system or adding to an existing one.

To qualify, the equipment must be used exclusively as part of a solar energy system that collects, transfers, converts, stores, or uses solar energy for purposes like electricity generation, water heating, or space heating and cooling. The exemption covers a comprehensive list of components including solar panels (photovoltaic modules), inverters, batteries, charge controllers, mounting hardware, wiring specific to the solar system, and even pool blankets when used as passive solar collectors. Your solar installer will typically handle the documentation by having you certify that the purchased equipment will be used exclusively in a solar energy system.

There are no deadlines or expiration dates for this exemption—it remains available as long as the state law is in effect. One important consideration: the exemption only applies to equipment that’s specifically part of your solar system. Standard electrical wiring throughout your home that would exist regardless of the solar installation doesn’t qualify. The tax savings are automatic at the point of sale, so you’ll see the reduced price immediately rather than needing to file for a refund later.

Net metering in Florida allows homeowners with solar panels to receive credits for excess electricity their system sends back to the grid. When your solar panels produce more energy than your home uses, that surplus electricity flows to the utility grid, and you receive credits on your electric bill. These credits offset the cost of electricity you draw from the grid when your panels aren’t producing enough power, such as at night or on cloudy days.

The specific benefits vary significantly depending on your utility provider. Most major Florida utilities—including Florida Power & Light (FPL), Duke Energy, Tampa Electric (TECO), and Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC)—offer 1:1 net metering, meaning you receive full retail rate credits for excess energy during the billing cycle. However, some utilities like FPL and Duke Energy charge minimum monthly bills ($25-$30) regardless of your solar production. Other utilities, such as Kissimmee Utility Authority and Gainesville Regional Utility, use net billing instead, crediting exports at lower wholesale rates (typically 3-9 cents per kWh rather than the full retail rate).

At the end of each year (usually in December), most utilities perform an annual “true-up” where any remaining excess credits are either paid out or reset to zero. The payout rate for these year-end credits varies widely by utility—from full retail rate (City of Winter Park) to wholesale rates as low as 1.5-3 cents per kWh (most other utilities). Some utilities like City of Tallahassee and Lakeland Electric allow credits to roll over indefinitely without annual true-ups. It’s important to understand your specific utility’s net metering policy, as the financial benefits can differ substantially based on monthly minimum bills, export credit rates, and year-end settlement terms.