The rules below are from the City's Solar and Electric Storage System Property Tax Abatement fact sheet and the Department of Finance's SEGS abatement page, both read 23 October 2026.
The abatement in one table
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Amount | 30% of the solar PV and/or battery (BESS) installation cost, or $250,000, whichever is lower |
| Spread | Four years, starting 1 July after Department of Buildings approval |
| Yearly ceiling | $62,500, and never more than your annual property tax (Finance) |
| Dates | Placed in service after 1 January 2024 and before 1 January 2035; applications accepted through 31 December 2034 |
| Same-year deadline | Application received by 15 March |
| Who files | The installation company, with the building permit application |
| Eligible property | Tax Class 1, 2 and 4 |
| Not eligible | Class 3 (utilities); ICAP, 421-a, 421-b, 421-g or PILOT properties; fully tax-exempt property |
| Battery added later | Allowed for projects in service after 1 January 2024 |
Finance's page shows how the rate has moved: 5% of cost for systems in service from 2014 to 2024, and 7.5% a year for 2024 to 2035, which over four years is the fact sheet's 30%.
A worked example
A one-family house with a $40,000 system: 30% is $12,000, or $3,000 a year for four years. If the house's yearly property tax is $2,500, Finance's "whichever is lowest" rule holds each year's credit to $2,500, so check your tax bill before you count on the full amount. The $62,500 and $250,000 caps only matter on large buildings.
What it means for hiring the installer
Because the installer files, three questions belong in the contract:
- Will you file the abatement application with the DOB permit, and the final cost affidavit at closeout? Both are the installer's job under the fact sheet.
- What cost goes on the affidavit? The abatement is a share of installation cost, so the affidavit figure is the one that counts.
- When will the permit be signed off? The final cost affidavit is filed at project closeout, so the abatement waits on the job being closed out. Missing the 15 March cutoff pushes the first credit out by a year.
Our data shows how differently firms close their permits:
| NYC solar permits, October 2023 to September 2026 | Value |
|---|---|
| Permits / firms | 19,067 / 87 |
| Usual filed value | $37,400 |
| Middle half of firms' usual job | $28,989 to $44,647 |
| Signed off (permits a year or more old) | 84.2% |
| Usual days from issue to sign-off | 144 |
| 10th / 90th percentile firm's signed-off share (10+ permits) | 61.7% / 97.6% |
| Busy firms signing off under 70% | 9 of 50 |
| Share of permits held by the five busiest firms | 60.6% |
| Busiest / quietest month | August / November |
The two busiest installers show the gap: Sunrun Installation Svc signed off 95.1% of 3,768 permits, Momentum Solar 61.8% of 3,570. A low share does not prove the panels were never connected, but it is the record DOB works from, and it is worth asking any installer how long their sign-offs take. The usual NYC solar permit reached sign-off in 144 days, so a contract signed in autumn can make the next 15 March if nothing stalls.
Compare NYC solar installers by share of permits signed off →
Prices by firm: NYC solar cost. The permit itself: NYC solar permit. The full installer checklist: hiring a solar installer in NYC. Counts by year: NYC permit statistics.
What this does not tell you
Filed values are the contractor's estimate on the DOB permit, which may differ from the cost affidavit the abatement uses. We do not see which permits carried an abatement application, or whether Finance applied it. Neither City page states a penalty or clawback rule, so ask the Department of Finance if you plan to sell within the four years.
How we know this
Abatement amounts, dates, eligibility and filing rules are quoted from the NYC fact sheet on the Solar and Electric Storage System Property Tax Abatement and the Department of Finance SEGS page, read 23 October 2026; the worked example applies those rules to an illustrative $40,000 system. Our figures are NYC Department of Buildings solar permits, October 2023 to September 2026; sign-off share uses permits a year or more old.
Numbers come from NYC Department of Buildings permits and DOB NOW filings on one- and two-family homes (NYC Open Data), data through October 17, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- How much is the NYC solar tax abatement?
For systems placed in service from 1 January 2024 to 1 January 2035, 30% of the solar and/or battery installation cost or $250,000, whichever is lower, taken off property tax over four years at up to $62,500 a year. The Department of Finance also caps each year at your annual property tax. On the usual NYC solar job in our file, filed at $37,400, that is 30% of that figure spread over four tax years.
- Who applies for the NYC solar property tax abatement?
Your installer. The City's fact sheet says applications 'should be submitted by your solar and/or BESS installation company', together with the building permit application, and the installer files a final cost affidavit at closeout. The Department of Buildings approves eligibility and the Department of Finance applies the credit.
- When does the NYC solar abatement start?
On 1 July after the Department of Buildings approves it, running four years. Applications must be received by 15 March for the abatement to take effect within the same calendar year, so a system finished in late spring can wait more than a year for its first credit.
- Can I get the NYC abatement for a battery added to existing solar?
Yes, for projects placed in service after 1 January 2024. Before then a tax lot could receive only one solar or storage abatement; the fact sheet says that limit 'was lifted as of January 1, 2024 to support energy storage retrofits to existing PV systems'.
- Which NYC properties are not eligible for the solar tax abatement?
Class 3 utility property, and properties receiving ICAP, 421-a, 421-b or 421-g benefits or paying PILOTs, or already fully exempt from property tax. Tax Class 1, 2 and 4 properties are eligible.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
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- Provo City Power solar net metering: the 6.742-cent export credit, the 25 kW cap, and the license before you switch on
- Hiring a solar installer: 5 red flags and 10 questions, checked against solar permits in 41 cities
- Hiring a solar installer in New York City: the licenses, the DOB permits, and what 19,000 solar permits show