Understanding your congregation's financing plan
How much you'd actually need to finance
Subtract your capital campaign total and the direct pay ITC from the system cost to find what's left to finance. On an $87,500 system with $20,000 raised and a $26,250 ITC, that leaves $41,250 to finance, well under half the original price tag. Fundraising and tax incentives together can shrink the financing need dramatically compared to the sticker price. The federal ITC calculator in our rebates and incentives section can help confirm your exact credit percentage before you build a fundraising target around it. A size estimate is only half the decision for a business. The cash purchase vs financed payback comparison in our Financing section can help you work out which way to pay for the system costs less.
Why a denominational loan fund is worth checking first
Often, yes. Many denominations run church extension or loan funds offering rates a point or two below commercial lenders. On a $41,250 loan over 15 years, a 5% denominational fund rate saves about $10,114 in total interest compared to a 7.5% commercial rate. That's a meaningful amount for a congregation budget, and it's worth checking before defaulting to a local bank or credit union, or the small business loan calculator if you want to compare against a conventional commercial rate directly. See Publication 5817-D for the source data behind this figure. If you want a second opinion on the size itself, the solar panel calculator in our System Sizing section works from your roof area and daily load instead of your building type.
Stacking a campaign, a rebate, and the ITC
Yes, these typically stack without conflict. A capital campaign reduces the amount you need to finance, a rebate reduces the system cost further, and the ITC applies on top of both, so combining all three usually produces the smallest possible financing need. Run the nonprofit financing tool next if you need to account for the wait before the ITC refund actually arrives, and the financing cost with ITC applied tool can show how that credit changes the numbers if you end up financing part of the project.
Confirming your church's ITC eligibility
Yes, through direct pay under IRC Section 6417, the same mechanism available to any tax-exempt entity. Your church registers the project with the IRS and receives the credit as a cash payment instead of a reduction in taxes owed. For the official rules on elective pay eligibility and the registration process, see the IRS elective pay guidance directly, and the IRS's Publication 5817-D, a short reference written specifically for tax-exempt organizations claiming this credit, is worth printing for your finance committee. Check the tax-exempt entity comparison to see how this compares against a third-party PPA if your congregation would rather avoid financing altogether, or the ITC calculator to confirm your exact rate.