Federal ITC 30% (tax credit)
State tax credit: Yes ($1,000)
Net metering (by utility)
There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.
Massachusetts legislators have made the state one of the best places in the country to install home solar panels. Because of all the great solar incentives here, you can expect a solar payback in as little as 6 years. That rate of return significantly outpaces other investments relative to the low level of risk associated with the sun rising every morning.
Learn what solar incentives are available to Massachusetts homeowners
See what Massachusetts solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city
Find out how much these incentives and/or Massachusetts solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries
The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Massachusetts
If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.
Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.
The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.
With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.
Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume, and make sure you get credit for the surplus. Massachusetts has recently reaffirmed its commitment to net metering for residential solar systems, so you can rest easier knowing the state has your back.
For Massachusetts residents under Class I residential net metering rules for solar, any extra energy your panels produce is credited to your bill and carried over indefinitely.
Net metering in Massachusetts is a huge boon for you as a solar owner, especially with electricity prices reaching over $0.30 per kilowatt-hour in Boston.
Massachusetts used to have a nice, simple statewide rebate program called "The Commonwealth Solar II Rebate Program". Sadly, the program has now closed, because it was so effective that funding ran out. Luckily, some local municipal utilities have stepped in to take the place. Unfortunately, these small companies serve only a fraction of the state's population.
Massachusetts has devised an ingenious progressive solar incentive system that favors low-income, small-scale and community solar energy projects. It’s called the SMART program. At the program’s core is a formula that includes a base compensation rate that decreases as your system gets larger.
For every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of solar energy you produce with your solar panel system as long as it’s 25 kW or less (that’s about an 80 panel installation, way more than enough electricity for a very large household’s needs), you get paid a 230% multiple of the base compensation rate. Special compensation rate adders are available for community shared solar projects, low-income properties, and/or both!
The SMART Program requires the 3 main Electric Distribution Companies (EDCs)—Eversource, National Grid, and Unitil—to make incentive payments directly to homeowners who install solar systems within their territory. The incentive is calculated based on a "block" system, where each block represents about 200 MW of solar energy generation capacity.
Each time a block is filled (i.e. 200 MW of solar are installed), the incentive amount decreases slightly. So people who install systems in the earlier blocks get higher incentive payments than those who wait to install later.
At the current level (2021), people who install solar on their homes are eligible for a net incentive payment of about $.08/kWh for 10 years. Considering the average Massachusetts home solar system generates around 7,900 kWh per year, that's over $630 in incentive payments per year.
Low income households enrolled in the program can expect an additional incentive of between 3 to 5 cents per kWh. That increases average SMART incentive payments to near $950 every year.
The definition of low income for the program is decided by each individual utility, but in general those with a maximum income 80% below the state’s median income will likely meet such requirements, though this is not guaranteed.
Learn more: Read our post about the SMART Solar Program here.
Massachusetts offers a 15% tax credit off the net costs of your solar system, but only up to a maximum of $1,000 (net costs, meaning cost minus the federal 30% tax credit).
Basically, for most systems, count on $1,000 off next year's state income tax bill, on top of the big savings from the Feds.
When the Massachusetts property tax man or woman cometh to assess your new solar home, they can’t assess you another dime for 20 years -- despite the fact that you’ll be adding roughly 20 times your annual electricity bill savings to your property value. In an example 5kW solar system, that adds up to about $19,890 (20 times your annual electricity savings of $995).
In addition to the property tax exemption, you don’t pay sales tax on your system either, so the installed price is the installed price.
Showing data for:
Prices based on a 8.5kW system, after 30% federal tax credit
77 solar companies in Massachusetts provide pricing on SolarReviews. Here are the best rated companies near you.
4.91 109 Reviews
Dick B, 1 day ago
Sunergy Solotions salesman Angelo was a gream man to deal with. He was very informative on solar systems. I was a former owner owner of an HVAC company and was very impressed with the entire crew of installers. They were very professional, respectful of my property during the entire process of the solar installation. I highly recommend reaching out to Sunergy Solutions for the installation of your solar project.
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Dick B, 1 day ago
Sunergy Solotions salesman Angelo was a gream man to deal with. He was very informative on solar systems. I was a former owner owner of an HVAC company and was very impressed with the entire crew of installers. They were very professional, respectful of my property during the entire process of the solar installation. I highly recommend reaching out to Sunergy Solutions for the installation of your solar project.
4.86 163 Reviews
Steven Dube, over 1 month
The team at Mass Renewables was a pleasure to work with. From the early estimating and vetting process, through panel layouts, permitting, scheduling of the work, and everything else, the team did an exceptional job communicating and answering all of my questions. The quality, price, and timeliness of the work was great and I am happy with my system. Almost 2 years after the original install, my system has been underperforming a bit and the team is still working with me to troubleshoot an issue with two panels and potentially add an additional panel to help. All in all, I am impressed with Mass Renewables and would recommend them for your solar needs.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$20,000 ($4.00 per watt)
Steven Dube, over 1 month
The team at Mass Renewables was a pleasure to work with. From the early estimating and vetting process, through panel layouts, permitting, scheduling of the work, and everything else, the team did an exceptional job communicating and answering all of my questions. The quality, price, and timeliness of the work was great and I am happy with my system. Almost 2 years after the original install, my system has been underperforming a bit and the team is still working with me to troubleshoot an issue with two panels and potentially add an additional panel to help. All in all, I am impressed with Mass Renewables and would recommend them for your solar needs.
4.85 488 Reviews
Paul, 6 days ago
All Energy Solar was great from start to finish. Our original consultation with Brady was very informative and was without sales pressure. Once we committed to the install, our project manager, Carlo, was very professional and kept us informed every step of the way. We are very happy with every aspect of the install and would recommend All Energy. As far as the product itself, the system is working great, and as advertised.
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Paul, 6 days ago
All Energy Solar was great from start to finish. Our original consultation with Brady was very informative and was without sales pressure. Once we committed to the install, our project manager, Carlo, was very professional and kept us informed every step of the way. We are very happy with every aspect of the install and would recommend All Energy. As far as the product itself, the system is working great, and as advertised.
4.84 216 Reviews
Stephen, over 1 month
Great information from the designers showing us how it all will work for us. Great people to work with very knowledgeable in there field. The installation went great with the crew very good information again very professional.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$20,050 ($4.01 per watt)
Stephen, over 1 month
Great information from the designers showing us how it all will work for us. Great people to work with very knowledgeable in there field. The installation went great with the crew very good information again very professional.
4.83 72 Reviews
D Yeroshalmi, 1 week ago
NEC Solar did solar panels for our primary residence a couple of years ago. It was a great experience with Artie as the company representative. Communications were quick and clear and he explained every steps of the project and met all the timelines We have been so pleased with our solar panels and the amount of power production that decided to do the same for our vacation home. NEC Solar was the first company we contacted.
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D Yeroshalmi, 1 week ago
NEC Solar did solar panels for our primary residence a couple of years ago. It was a great experience with Artie as the company representative. Communications were quick and clear and he explained every steps of the project and met all the timelines We have been so pleased with our solar panels and the amount of power production that decided to do the same for our vacation home. NEC Solar was the first company we contacted.
4.79 80 Reviews
Jerry B., over 1 month
I have yet to have multi-day power outage since installing 2-13.5 kwh SunVault batteries. During winter months I leave fully charged since sun & possible snow cover will impede solar production, so a fail-safe for the long power outage possibility. Now that better weather is here and not worried about freezing pipes, I am running the batteries overnight to power the home. So far, has the SunVault system has been working great with balancing the battery, grid and solar production usage in the home. I use about 50% of the batteries (one battery) each evening and it is typically charged up by 11 am local time, a little later on the cloudy days (yes, arrays still produce). My system is sized enough to power home on all but the darkest days where the battery supplements. If we get multiple days of rain, then I'm back on the grid using some of the credits I have stored at Eversource after the batteries are 100% recharged each day. I have no idea when the SunVault system switches to battery from the grid and vice versa, no issues with any electronics in the home when it does and it works in the "normal" daily living space fantastically. I will update this review if my micro-grid fails during a multi-day grid power outage as it is my expectation the solar array will not be shut down so the house and batteries can use the produced electricity until the grid is repaired. This is the real reason I go the batteries as had a 2018 summer Tropical Storm knock out power for 6-days and it was sunny for 5 of those days but my solar array was useless without a battery system attached. Fingers crossed this works as promoted and promised. The staff was great at every process of the sales, install and post-install support process as there are always questions and weird things with electricity that sometimes needs a call. Thank you, Jordan, my install team and Kim for helping and teaching me about the system. SavKat is a local, family-owned operation that is simply the best, highly recommend talking to them before going too far into your solar planning.
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Jerry B., over 1 month
I have yet to have multi-day power outage since installing 2-13.5 kwh SunVault batteries. During winter months I leave fully charged since sun & possible snow cover will impede solar production, so a fail-safe for the long power outage possibility. Now that better weather is here and not worried about freezing pipes, I am running the batteries overnight to power the home. So far, has the SunVault system has been working great with balancing the battery, grid and solar production usage in the home. I use about 50% of the batteries (one battery) each evening and it is typically charged up by 11 am local time, a little later on the cloudy days (yes, arrays still produce). My system is sized enough to power home on all but the darkest days where the battery supplements. If we get multiple days of rain, then I'm back on the grid using some of the credits I have stored at Eversource after the batteries are 100% recharged each day. I have no idea when the SunVault system switches to battery from the grid and vice versa, no issues with any electronics in the home when it does and it works in the "normal" daily living space fantastically. I will update this review if my micro-grid fails during a multi-day grid power outage as it is my expectation the solar array will not be shut down so the house and batteries can use the produced electricity until the grid is repaired. This is the real reason I go the batteries as had a 2018 summer Tropical Storm knock out power for 6-days and it was sunny for 5 of those days but my solar array was useless without a battery system attached. Fingers crossed this works as promoted and promised. The staff was great at every process of the sales, install and post-install support process as there are always questions and weird things with electricity that sometimes needs a call. Thank you, Jordan, my install team and Kim for helping and teaching me about the system. SavKat is a local, family-owned operation that is simply the best, highly recommend talking to them before going too far into your solar planning.
4.77 73 Reviews
Kozmada, 1 week ago
I'm happy I chose to go with Earthlight. They made the process easy to understand and kept me up-to-date the entire time. The installation went as expected without any issues or concerns. The system was up and running without any flaws or hiccups. Really excited about owing Eversource absolutely nothing these last few months!
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Kozmada, 1 week ago
I'm happy I chose to go with Earthlight. They made the process easy to understand and kept me up-to-date the entire time. The installation went as expected without any issues or concerns. The system was up and running without any flaws or hiccups. Really excited about owing Eversource absolutely nothing these last few months!
4.77 81 Reviews
Janet H., over 1 month
From start to finish this was an exceptional process. It was a throwback to a time when customer service was all about the customer. We were kept informed every step of the way, called if there was a delay for any reason, work was done timely, staff were more than competent and I was completely comfortable having them in and on my home. The work area was always cleaned before they left for the day. It was so refreshing to work with a company that does quality work, with quality products and cares about the client experience from start to finish.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$18,600 ($3.72 per watt)
Janet H., over 1 month
From start to finish this was an exceptional process. It was a throwback to a time when customer service was all about the customer. We were kept informed every step of the way, called if there was a delay for any reason, work was done timely, staff were more than competent and I was completely comfortable having them in and on my home. The work area was always cleaned before they left for the day. It was so refreshing to work with a company that does quality work, with quality products and cares about the client experience from start to finish.
4.76 309 Reviews
Chris C, over 1 month
Easy to deal with, quick response. When there was a software issue after almost a year, they stayed on top of it, and when they couldn't deal with it remotely, sent a tech who sorted it out.
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Average cost (5kW system)
$21,450 ($4.29 per watt)
Chris C, over 1 month
Easy to deal with, quick response. When there was a software issue after almost a year, they stayed on top of it, and when they couldn't deal with it remotely, sent a tech who sorted it out.
4.73 595 Reviews
Monica D., 1 day ago
From A-Z everyone in the process at Venture Solar provided an excellent service. Starting with sales representative Jessy to the installation team that finished the job in one (1) day. Now with the net metering we are delivering power back to Eversource Grid. It is worth it to us to have this system installed, and we are doing our share to save the environment.
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Monica D., 1 day ago
From A-Z everyone in the process at Venture Solar provided an excellent service. Starting with sales representative Jessy to the installation team that finished the job in one (1) day. Now with the net metering we are delivering power back to Eversource Grid. It is worth it to us to have this system installed, and we are doing our share to save the environment.
For more information about going solar near where you live, check out the following resources: