2021 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 12 - Taxation
Chapter 6 - South Carolina Income Tax Act
Section 12-6-3587. Purchase and installation of solar energy system for heating water, space heating, air cooling, or generating electricity.

(A) There is allowed as a tax credit against the income tax liability of a taxpayer imposed by this chapter an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the costs incurred by the taxpayer in the purchase and installation of a solar energy system, small hydropower system, or geothermal machinery and equipment for heating water, space heating, air cooling, energy-efficient daylighting, heat reclamation, energy-efficient demand response, or the generation of electricity in or on a facility in South Carolina and owned by the taxpayer. The tax credit allowed by this section must not be claimed before the completion of the installation. The amount of the credit in any year may not exceed three thousand five hundred dollars for each facility or fifty percent of the taxpayer's tax liability for that taxable year, whichever is less. If the amount of the credit exceeds three thousand five hundred dollars for each facility, the taxpayer may carry forward the excess for up to ten years.

(B) "System" includes all controls, tanks, pumps, heat exchangers, and other equipment used directly and exclusively for the solar energy system. The term "system" does not include any land or structural elements of the building such as walls and roofs or other equipment ordinarily contained in the structure. A credit may not be allowed for a solar system unless the system is certified for performance by the nonprofit Solar Rating and Certification Corporation or a comparable entity endorsed by the State Energy Office.

(C) For purposes of this section, "small hydropower system" means new generation capacity on a nonimpoundment or on an existing impoundment that:

(1) meets licensing standards as defined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC);

(2) is a run-of-the-river facility with a capacity not to exceed 5MW; or

(3) consists of a turbine in a pipeline or in an irrigation canal.

(D) For purposes of this section, "geothermal machinery and equipment" means machinery and equipment for use at the taxpayer's residence that either:

(1) is a heat pump that uses the ground or groundwater as a thermal energy source to heat a structure or as a thermal energy sink to cool a structure; or

(2) uses the internal heat of the earth as a substitute for traditional energy for water heating or active space heating or cooling; and

(3) on the date of installation, meets or exceeds applicable federal Energy Star requirements.

HISTORY: 2006 Act No. 386, Section 37.A, eff June 14, 2006 applicable to installation costs incurred in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2006; 2007 Act No. 83, Section 13, eff June 19, 2007; 2007 Act No. 110, Section 17.A, eff June 21, 2007, applicable to installation costs incurred after December 31, 2005; 2007 Act No. 116, Section 23.A, eff June 28, 2007, applicable to installation costs incurred after December 31, 2005; 2008 Act No. 354, Section 3, eff July 1, 2009; 2016 Act No. 134 (H.3874), Section 2.A, eff February 16, 2016; 2019 Act No. 47 (S.329), Section 2, eff May 16, 2019.

Editor's Note

2016 Act No. 134, Section 2.B, as amended by 2019 Act No. 47, Section 1, and 2021 Act No. 53, Section 1, provides as follows:

"B. The provisions contained in this section related to geothermal machinery and equipment are repealed January 1, 2032."

2019 Act No. 47, Section 2, provides as follows:

"SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to tax years beginning after 2018. The provisions of Section 12-6-3587, as they existed on December 31, 2018, are re-enacted, and the tax credits earned pursuant to this act shall be earned and claimed under the same terms and conditions as they existed on December 31, 2018. This act shall continue to apply until such time as Section 12-6-3587, or parts thereof, are otherwise repealed, mutatis mutandis."

Effect of Amendment

2016 Act No. 134, Section 2.A, in (A), inserted ", geothermal machinery and equipment", and made nonsubstantive changes; and added (D).