Weekend before last I was at the Marshall Sylver event, Financial Prosperity. It was a terrific seminar. The next one is in Orlando later this year and I encourage everyone to attend. I attended both as a participant and as a speaker.

One of the exercises Marshall had us do was to put together a business plan for an entirely new business. He put us into groups of 7 and we were to come up with a business that none of us had done before or were planning on doing. Our group decided to plan a business selling the latest solar panels.

Of course, my task was to come up with the tax benefits of solar panels. Fortunately, a client of mine, Jack McGill, recently had explained some of the tax benefits and they are extraordinary.

First, there is a federal tax credit equal to 30% of the cost of the solar panels for any homeowner who buys and installs the panels on their home. Many states also give tax credits (Arizona's is $1,000) and many utilities are offering rebates.

One other benefit is that if you put a bigger unit than is necessary to power your house, you can sell your excess energy back to the utility company. Our group estimated that with the new technology, a homeowner could easily recoup their investment in less than 5 years. After that, their energy is essentially free and they can still sell excess to the utility.

Sounds like a great opportunity for anyone interested in going green with their home energy consumption. The only challenge I found in my research is that you don't get the federal credit if the unit is used to heat your swimming pool. I'll have to figure out a way around that when I install the panels in my new home in Park City, since I will definitely be heating a pool.

For more information about tax saving strategies, join us in our School of Tax Strategy at http://www.provisionwealth.com/products. Go green and get those tax credits.

And remember that your financial freedom is closer than you think!

Tom