Glossary
Property tax exemption
Florida's renewable energy property tax exemption means the value a residential solar system adds to your home is not included in the assessment used to calculate property tax. It is not money you receive: it is a tax increase that does not happen. It applies to homeowner-owned systems and is administered through the county property appraiser.
What the exemption is
When you improve your home (a pool, an addition), the county property appraiser usually raises the assessed value and, with it, the annual tax. Florida excludes from that assessment the value added by renewable energy systems, including residential solar. In practice: you install panels, the house is worth more if you sell, but the county does not tax you on that added value.
Florida also exempts solar equipment purchases from sales tax. These are two separate incentives and both are exemptions, not rebates or credits.
Why it matters in Florida
It is one of the few real state incentives, and unlike the federal credit, it did not change in 2026. Its impact is modest but steady: every year you own the system, you pay no tax on the value it adds. It applies when you own the system; under a lease or PPA the equipment belongs to a third party and the logic changes.
There is an important exception worth keeping in mind: PACE financing is collected precisely through the property tax bill. The exemption stops the system’s value from raising your assessment, but it does not stop the PACE payment from showing up on that same bill.
Common mistake
Having a salesperson present the exemption as “the state gives you money for going solar.” There is no check and no rebate. If a proposal shows a dollar figure for “Florida state incentive” subtracted from the price, ask which program it comes from and verify it on DSIRE. The full, current list is in Florida solar incentives 2026.
Full guide: Florida solar incentives 2026: what exists, what ended and what never existed →
Updated