Procedure for Claiming Louisiana Income Tax Credits for Solar Energy Systems
To submit a valid claim for Louisiana’s Income Tax Credits for Solar Energy Systems, taxpayers must file one of the following Louisiana income tax returns:
- IT-540 or IT-540B (Individual Income)
- IT-541( Fiduciary Income)
- CIFT-620 (Corporation Income)
The income tax return must be accompanied by a completed Form R-1086 - Solar Energy Income Tax Credit for Individuals and Businesses.
Submitting Form R-1086 alone is not sufficient to establish a taxpayer’s claim under the statutory cap for this tax credit. The date on which the return is filed with all required supporting documentation is the date on which the taxpayer is placed in the queue to claim the credit under the cap. For Fiscal Year 2015-2016, the cap on credits claimed is $10 million for non-leased systems and $10 million on leased systems. For more information on the cap, including the estimated amount of credits available, visit www.revenue.louisiana.gov/CreditCaps.
All returns claiming the solar energy systems tax credit must be filed electronically. The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) recommends strongly that taxpayers file their returns with the supporting documents attached. If a taxpayer’s tax-filing software does not accommodate attachments, we recommend using Louisiana File Online, LDR’s free tax filing web application to file an Individual Income Tax return and the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTap) to file a Fiduciary Income Tax return. Filing the returns and documents together will provide the taxpayer with confirmation from the department that the return was received.
LDR continues to offer the E-Return attachments fax number; however this is a much less reliable method of submitting documentation, and is not recommended. The taxpayer will not have a department-issued confirmation to verify that the fax was received. If the taxpayer chooses to use the fax number, it is extremely important that the taxpayer’s SSN or LDR account number be clearly labeled on the first page of the fax. And each fax must contain documentation for one account only.