Montana · Tax credit · Deep-stack program
MT Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Reduces residential solar owners' tax liability in Montana -- see the credit amount, who qualifies, and how it shortens payback below.
- Up to $500
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 16.3 yr
- Montana baseline payback
- 3
- other Montana programs
Deep-stack program · mid directory
Montana runs a 4-program DSIRE stack; this tax credit is one layer on a 16.3-year modeled baseline, not the whole story.
- Stack4 programs
- In-state #2/3
- Type #4/9
- Baseline16.3 yr
In-state directory place #2 of 3 (mid alphabet). National tax credit directory #4 of 9. Amounts and eligibility change; verify with the official program page before relying on a dollar figure. Informational only - not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
Program description
Montana income tax credit for residential renewable energy installations.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Tax credit
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- Up to $500
- State electricity rate
- 11.8¢/kWh
- Montana solar score
- 29/100
Solar's trajectory in Montana
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Montana reported to the EIA.
Montana's solar incentive stack
How this tax credit sits among Montana's 3 tracked programs, by type
- Tax exemption
Tax exemption
1 programs
- Net metering
Net metering
1 programs
- Tax credit
Tax credit
1 programs
What this shows Montana tracks 3 incentive types; 1 of them, including this one, are tax credits. Credits reduce what solar owners owe directly, on top of whatever the other stacked types provide.
How this tax credit layers inside Montana's deep stack
The MT Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit is a state-level credit against what you owe, tracked as one of Montana's solar incentives in the DSIRE registry. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Up to $500. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.
That baseline is slower than most states, which raises the stakes for every incentive on the table. Montana averages 5 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 11.8¢/kWh, producing an estimated 8,760 kWh/year and $1,034 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,800. That baseline already implies a 16.3-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $9,050 before this incentive - every dollar this tax credit delivers compresses that payback further.
Montana bundles a deep incentive stack, so this program rarely stands alone. Montana has 4 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like MT Solar Property Tax Exemption, MT Net Metering. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.
Other Montana incentives
Frequently asked questions
Where does the MT Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit sit in Montana's deep program stack?
How does this tax credit work beside Montana's other programs?
Who is eligible for the MT Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Montana?
Which other Montana programs stack with this one?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology · Montana solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.