Texas solar property tax exemption.

What is exempt

Section 11.27 entitles a person to an "exemption from taxation of the amount of appraised value of real property" that "arises from the installation or construction" of a solar or wind-powered energy device. The device must be used "primarily for production and distribution of energy for on-site use". The exemption is for the added value, not the whole property. Source: Tax Code chapter 11.

Subsection (a-1), added in 2021 (S.B. 63), entitles a person to an exemption of "the appraised value of a solar or wind-powered energy device owned by the person" that is used mainly for on-site power, "regardless of whether the person owns the real property on which the device is installed or constructed". It is relevant to leased systems, where the device owner (the lessor) and the homeowner differ. How a given appraisal district treats a leased system was not checked here.

How to apply

1. Get Comptroller Form 50-123, "Exemption Application for Solar or Wind-Powered Energy Devices".
2. File it with the chief appraiser of the county appraisal district, not with the Comptroller. The form says: "Do not file this document with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts."
3. File before May 1. Tax Code 11.43(d) requires "a completed exemption application form before May 1"; the form puts it as January 1 through April 30. The chief appraiser may extend once, by written order, up to 60 days, for good cause. Unless one of the exceptions listed in 11.43(e) applies, a late application means no exemption for that year.
4. Attach pictures and invoices for the device, installation and construction if you have them, per Section 5 of the form.

Sources: the Comptroller's exemptions page and Form 50-123.

After it is granted

Section 11.43(c) lists 11.27 among exemptions that, "once allowed, need not be claimed in subsequent years", although the chief appraiser can still require a new application. If you stop qualifying, Tax Code 11.43(g) requires written notice to the appraisal office before May 1 (the form says to notify the chief appraiser). Eligibility is judged on your status on January 1 of the tax year (Tax Code 11.42(a)), so panels installed after January 1 are first exempt the following year.

If the district says no

Tax Code 11.45(d) requires the chief appraiser to send written notice of a denial or modification within five days of the decision, stating each reason and briefly explaining how to protest. The general protest rule in Tax Code 41.44(a)(1) gives until May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal notice (Tax Code 25.19) was delivered, whichever is later, to file a written protest with the appraisal review board. Whether a denied 11.27 application follows that exact clock was not confirmed with an appraisal district page, so follow the deadline stated in the denial notice you receive. The chief appraiser, not the Comptroller, decides whether property qualifies.

Questions

Is there a state rebate too?

The PUCT says: "The State of Texas does not offer grants or rebates for installing solar panels."

Do I owe anything for the panels themselves?

Subsection (a) exempts the value the panels add to your real property, and (a-1) exempts the appraised value of a device you own even when you do not own the land. Both require the device to be mainly for on-site use. How a district values a particular system was not checked; ask the district.

Does the federal credit change this?

No. The property tax exemption is separate. See the federal credit after 2025.