Massachusetts Solar Incentive Programs

SMART (Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target) is Massachusetts' core solar program. Every kWh your solar system produces earns a per-kWh payment from your utility for 20 years, stacked on top of your net metering bill savings. The program is now in its 3.0 phase. The standard base rate is $0.03/kWh; income-qualified participants earn $0.06/kWh. Rates are locked at the time of interconnection application approval. Under SMART 3.0, systems of 25 kW AC or less receive a flat rate and are not eligible for the energy storage adder; ask your installer to confirm your rate before signing. Note: municipalities served by municipal light plants (e.g., Braintree Electric, Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant) are not in the SMART program.

• Property served by Eversource, National Grid, or Unitil (not a municipal light plant)
• Residential system ≤25 kW AC
• System interconnected to the grid and registered in the SMART program
• Income-qualified rate: household income ≤ 80% of area median income

Massachusetts offers a non-refundable state income tax credit equal to 15% of the net cost of a solar electric system, up to a maximum of $1,000. For a typical $20,000 system, the credit would be $1,000 (capped). The credit applies only to systems the homeowner owns outright, solar leases and PPAs do not qualify. If the credit exceeds your tax liability in the first year, the unused portion carries forward up to three years. Claim on Massachusetts Schedule EC with your state return.

• Massachusetts resident filing a state income tax return
• Homeowner-owned solar system (not leased or under a PPA)
• Solar electric (photovoltaic) system installed on your Massachusetts home

ConnectedSolutions is a demand response program where your enrolled home battery discharges to the grid during summer peak demand periods called by Eversource or National Grid. The utility pays approximately $275 per kW of enrolled battery capacity per year. A 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall 3 (delivering ~5 kW) earns roughly $1,375/year. Events are automated, you typically set a reserve charge level and the program handles dispatch. ConnectedSolutions payments are separate from and additive to your SMART program income.

• Home battery storage system installed at a Massachusetts property
• Served by Eversource, National Grid, or Cape Light Compact (not Unitil or municipal utilities)
• Battery must be enrolled in the program through your utility or installer
• Battery must be capable of discharging on utility signal

Massachusetts net metering credits exported solar at the full retail rate. In Eversource territory, that's approximately $0.22 to $0.26/kWh. NEM savings are additive to SMART payments, you earn both. Monthly surplus credits roll forward indefinitely. Municipal light plant customers have their own net metering policies set at the town level, check with your specific municipal utility.

Under M.G.L. c. 64H §6(dd), solar energy equipment used to produce electricity is exempt from the Massachusetts 6.25% sales and use tax. On a $20,000 system, this saves $1,250 upfront. The exemption is applied by your installer at the point of sale.

Under M.G.L. Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 45, solar and wind-powered systems on Massachusetts residential properties are exempt from local property tax for 20 years from installation. This means the value added by your solar system will not increase your property assessment or annual tax bill for two decades. The exemption is automatic and statewide.