What is a solar dealer fee?

A fee the lender charges the installer to originate a below-market interest rate, which the installer passes to you by raising the financed price. It is typically 10 to 30% of the amount financed and is usually not shown as a line item. The CFPB has found hidden fees in this market typically running 10 to 30% of the cash price and sometimes above 50%.

How do I find out what dealer fee I am being charged?

Ask for the cash price in writing and compare it with the financed price. The gap is the fee. If an installer will not give you a cash price, or says it is identical to the financed price, that is itself informative, the fee is in both, and you are paying it either way.

Why is a 20% fee on $30,000 equal to $37,500 rather than $36,000?

Because the fee is a percentage of the amount financed, not of the cash price, and the fee is itself part of what you finance. The correct arithmetic is $30,000 ÷ (1 − 0.20) = $37,500. Adding 20% to the cash price understates the fee by $1,500 before any interest is applied.

Is a low APR with a dealer fee better than a higher APR with none?

Sometimes, and you cannot tell without running both. At our defaults, 3.99% with a 20% fee costs $59,320 while 7.99% with no fee costs $69,404, so the low rate wins. Change the fee to 30% and the picture shifts. Compare total paid, never the rate.

Should I take a shorter term?

It usually costs far less. The same $37,500 financed at 3.99% costs $59,320 over 25 years and $47,252 over 12, a saving of $12,068 for a payment that rises from $198 to $328. Whether you can carry the higher payment is a separate question from whether it is cheaper.

Can I use a home equity loan or credit union loan instead?

Frequently yes, and it removes the dealer fee entirely because there is no installer origination to subsidize. The rate is often higher and the total often lower. This calculator lets you compare the two properly by entering each structure and reading the total paid line.

What is the "cost above cash" figure?

Total paid minus the cash price. It combines the dealer fee and all interest into a single number representing everything you spent beyond the system itself. At the defaults it is $29,320 on a $30,000 system, which is close to buying the system twice.

Does this include the federal tax credit?

No. The residential credit under §25D is $0 for property placed in service after 31 December 2025, so there is nothing to include for most 2026 installations. Many solar loans are structured assuming you will apply a credit as a lump sum in year one and will re-amortize upward if you do not, check whether yours does.

Does the loan put a lien on my house?

Usually not on the house, but commonly on the equipment, through a UCC-1 financing statement. That surfaces during a sale or refinance. Our page on UCC-1 filings explains what is actually filed, how consumer-goods termination works automatically within a month, and how to self-file and claim $500 if it is not released.

The salesperson says the loan payment replaces my electricity bill. Is that true?

Rarely in full. Solar offsets kilowatt-hours, but a residential bill also carries fixed charges and delivery, and our own measurement puts delivery at 53.2% of the bill across 14.7 million customers. You should expect a smaller electricity bill plus a loan payment, and you should model both together rather than accepting a swap.

HyreSolar tools

Solar loan calculator

Puts a dealer fee inside the amount financed, then shows the monthly payment, the total repaid and the cost above cash.

Checked September 3, 2026. Data as of August 23, 2026. HyreSolar sells and installs nothing.

This solar loan calculator gives an estimate from your own numbers in under a minute, with every assumption listed under the result.

A dealer fee is borrowed too, so it raises the payment without changing the advertised rate. A $30,000 system financed over 25 years at 3.99% with a 20% dealer fee means borrowing $37,500.

The payment is $198 a month and you repay $59,320. With no fee, the same loan is $158 a month and $47,456 in total.

Most solar loans are arranged by the installer at the kitchen table, and many carry a dealer fee: a charge the lender takes from the installer, which the installer recovers by raising the price you finance.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found these fees are typically capitalized into the loan and are not part of the advertised APR. That is why this calculator starts from the cash price and the fee, and works out the amount you actually borrow before it calculates the payment.

Ask the installer two questions before using the result: what is the cash price for the same system, and what dealer fee is built into the loan.

If they will not give a cash price, compare the financed amount with the cash prices on our cost pages.

A low headline rate with a large fee often costs more over the term than a higher rate with none, and the total repaid line below the result shows that directly.

Watch for loans built around a large payment in month 18. Some were structured on the assumption you would pay down principal with a 30% federal tax credit, and the payment rises if you do not.

§25D ended for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025, so that money does not exist for a system bought now. This calculator models a flat payment over the full term.

If you want to compare the loan with cash or a home equity line, the dealer fee calculator and our cash vs loan comparison take that further, and the form under the result passes your figures to an installer who can quote both ways.

Dealer-fee loan model

Fee goes into the principal, where the lender puts it.

Example values The filled-in numbers are an example, not your home. Type over them with your own.

— Monthly payment

— Amount financed

— Total paid

— Cost above cash

How this result was worked out

Working it out from the numbers above.

Not a loan offer. Compare total paid, not the monthly payment.

HyreSolar does not originate, broker or sell finance.

How to read what came back

Financed amount is the number that matters, and it is not the price you were quoted. When a dealer fee is expressed as a percentage of the amount financed, the arithmetic is not "add 20%", it is "divide by 0.80".

A $30,000 system with a 20% fee means borrowing $37,500, because the fee is itself part of what you borrow.

A low advertised rate and a large dealer fee can cost more than a higher rate and no fee. That is the whole reason this tool exists. Compare the total paid line, not the interest rate and not the monthly payment.

The cost above cash line is the honest comparison. It is what you pay beyond the system price, combining fee and interest into one figure. At the defaults it is $29,320 on a $30,000 system, which is very nearly the price of the system again.

No dealer fee: Rare in the dealer-financed market and worth actively seeking. Ask directly what the cash price is and whether it differs from the financed price.
10 to 20% fee: The common band. At 20% you are borrowing a quarter more than the system costs, before any interest.
Over 25% fee: The financed price is a third above the cash price. Ask for the cash price in writing and compare it against a credit union or home equity option.

Where to find each number

Where each input comes from, so nothing is a guess.

1. Enter the cash price of the system

The price if you paid outright with no financing. This is the number you are trying to protect.

Where to find it: Ask the installer directly: "what is the cash price?" If the answer is the same as the financed price, ask specifically whether a dealer fee is included in the financed amount. A cash price that is lower than the financed price is the fee made visible.

2. Enter the dealer fee as a percentage

The fee lenders charge installers to originate a low-rate loan, which is passed through to you inside the financed amount rather than shown as a line item.

Where to find it: It is frequently not disclosed as a percentage anywhere. The reliable way to find it is the gap between the cash price and the financed price. If cash is $30,000 and financed is $37,500, the fee is 20% of the financed amount.

3. Enter the APR

The headline rate on the loan documents. Note that this is the rate applied to the inflated principal, which is why a very low rate can still be expensive.

Where to find it: The loan agreement, not the sales presentation. Federal disclosure requires it in the credit documents.

4. Enter the term in years

Solar loans commonly run 20 or 25 years. A longer term lowers the payment and raises the total substantially.

Where to find it: The loan agreement. Compare a 12-year and a 25-year quote on total paid rather than on payment, because the shorter one usually costs far less overall.

5. Compare total paid, not monthly payment

The monthly payment is the number the sale is built around and it is the least informative figure on the page.

Where to find it: Run the tool twice, once with the fee and once without, and read the difference in the total. That difference is what the fee costs you.

How the calculator works it out

1
Gross up for the dealer fee
Financed = cash ÷ (1 − fee). A 20% fee on $30,000 means borrowing $37,500, not $36,000.
2
Amortize the financed amount
Standard monthly amortization at the stated APR over the stated term.
3
Total the payments
Monthly payment × number of months.
4
Subtract the cash price
What remains is everything you paid above the system itself: fee plus interest.

The formula, in full. financed = cash ÷ (1 − fee). r = APR ÷ 12. n = years × 12. payment = financed × r × (1+r)^n ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1). total = payment × n. cost above cash = total − cash.

A worked example, start to finish

A $30,000 system sold with a 20% dealer fee on a 25-year loan at a 3.99% headline APR, a combination that appears routinely in residential solar finance.

Step	Value
Cash price	$30,000
Dealer fee	20% of financed
Amount financed	$37,500
APR	3.99%
Term	25 years, 300 payments
Monthly payment	$198
Result	$59,320 total

You pay $29,320 above the cash price, very nearly the price of the system a second time. Of that, $7,500 is the dealer fee and the rest is interest on money borrowed to pay the dealer fee. The advertised 3.99% is entirely true and tells you almost nothing.

How the answer moves

The same $30,000 system. Every figure is computed by the calculator on this page.

Structure	Financed	Monthly	Total paid	Above cash
Base case20% fee, 3.99%, 25 yr	$37,500	$198	$59,320	$29,320
No dealer fee, 3.99%, 25 yr	$30,000	$158	$47,456	$17,456
30% fee, 3.99%, 25 yr	$42,857	$226	$67,794	$37,794
No fee at 7.99%, 25 yr	$30,000	$231	$69,404	$39,404
20% fee, 3.99%, 12 yr	$37,500	$328	$47,252	$17,252

Two rows are worth sitting with. A 20% fee at 3.99% costs $59,320 while no fee at 7.99% costs $69,404, so the low rate really is cheaper here, but only by comparing totals could you know. And shortening the same fee-laden loan to 12 years saves $12,068 despite a much higher payment.

What moves this number most

Ranked, largest first. A proposal can change any of these without saying anything untrue, so check these inputs first.

1. The dealer fee

The largest hidden variable. Moving from no fee to 20% adds $11,864 over the term at the same interest rate. Moving to 30% adds $20,338. None of this appears in the advertised APR.

2. The term

A 25-year loan at these terms costs $59,320; the same loan over 12 years costs $47,252. Longer terms are sold on affordability and cost you $12,068 for the privilege.

3. The APR

Real but frequently the smallest of the three. The industry uses a low APR as the headline precisely because the fee and the term do more work.

4. Whether a cash price exists at all

Some installers quote one price regardless. Others have a genuine cash discount, which is the dealer fee made visible. Always ask, and ask in writing.

5. What the loan is secured against

Not in this model but material. Many solar loans place a lien on the equipment, which surfaces at resale. See what a UCC-1 filing actually does.

6. The comparison you are not being offered

A credit union personal loan or a home equity line has no dealer fee at all. It may carry a higher rate and still cost less. This tool lets you check rather than assume.

Common mistakes with this calculation

Adding the fee instead of dividing by it
A 20% fee on $30,000 is not $36,000. Because the fee is a percentage of the amount financed, and the fee is itself financed, the correct figure is $30,000 ÷ 0.80 = $37,500. The difference is $1,500 before any interest.
Comparing loans on the monthly payment
The payment is a function of term as much as of cost. A 25-year loan looks cheaper monthly than a 12-year one while costing $12,068 more. Compare total paid.
Believing a low APR means a cheap loan
The advertised rate is applied to an inflated principal. A 3.99% loan on $37,500 and a 7.99% loan on $30,000 are much closer than the rates suggest, and which wins depends on the numbers, not on the headline.
Not asking for the cash price
It is the single most useful question in the whole transaction and it is rarely volunteered. The gap between cash and financed is the fee.
Treating the loan as a bill swap
The pitch is that the loan payment replaces your electricity bill. It rarely replaces all of it, the payment does not fall when the sun does not shine, and the loan outlives the honeymoon. See what actually happens to the first bill.
Ignoring what happens if you sell
A financed system with a lien is a transaction the sale has to deal with. Read loans and leases at the point of sale before you sign a 25-year term on a house you may not keep.

Embed this calculator

Free to use on any site, including news and installer pages. Paste this where you want the calculator to appear. Keep the credit line: it is the only condition.

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What this calculator leaves out

The result is a planning estimate. A real proposal accounts for these; this page does not.

Not a loan offer, a rate quote or a credit decision.
Assumes the dealer fee is a percentage of the amount financed, which is the common structure but not the only one.
Ignores origination costs outside the dealer fee, prepayment terms and any rate step-up.
Ignores the re-amortization many solar loans apply if you do not make a lump-sum payment in year one.
Does not model the tax credit, which is $0 for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025.

The research behind these numbers

What zero-down actually costsThe CFPB’s finding that hidden fees typically run 10 to 30% of the cash price, and sometimes above 50%.Read the research The UCC-1 lien on your systemWhat gets filed against the equipment, how consumer-goods termination works and how to self-file.Read the research Selling a house with a financed systemWhat a 25-year term means if you move in year eight.Read the research Door-to-door sales rulesThe federal cooling-off rule that applies even when you invited them, and why Saturday counts.Read the research Your first bill after solarWhy the loan payment rarely replaces the whole bill: delivery is 53.2% of it.Read the research Solar sales regulation by stateWhich states require disclosure of financing terms, and which do not.Read the research

Questions this calculator answers

What is a solar dealer fee?: A fee the lender charges the installer to originate a below-market interest rate, which the installer passes to you by raising the financed price.; It is typically 10 to 30% of the amount financed and is usually not shown as a line item.; The CFPB has found hidden fees in this market typically running 10 to 30% of the cash price and sometimes above 50%.
How do I find out what dealer fee I am being charged?: Ask for the cash price in writing and compare it with the financed price. The gap is the fee. If an installer will not give you a cash price, or says it is identical to the financed price, that is itself informative, the fee is in both, and you are paying it either way.
Why is a 20% fee on $30,000 equal to $37,500 rather than $36,000?: Because the fee is a percentage of the amount financed, not of the cash price, and the fee is itself part of what you finance. The correct arithmetic is $30,000 ÷ (1 − 0.20) = $37,500. Adding 20% to the cash price understates the fee by $1,500 before any interest is applied.
Is a low APR with a dealer fee better than a higher APR with none?: Sometimes, and you cannot tell without running both. At our defaults, 3.99% with a 20% fee costs $59,320 while 7.99% with no fee costs $69,404, so the low rate wins. Change the fee to 30% and the picture shifts. Compare total paid, never the rate.
Should I take a shorter term?: It usually costs far less. The same $37,500 financed at 3.99% costs $59,320 over 25 years and $47,252 over 12, a saving of $12,068 for a payment that rises from $198 to $328. Whether you can carry the higher payment is a separate question from whether it is cheaper.
Can I use a home equity loan or credit union loan instead?: Frequently yes, and it removes the dealer fee entirely because there is no installer origination to subsidize. The rate is often higher and the total often lower. This calculator lets you compare the two properly by entering each structure and reading the total paid line.
What is the "cost above cash" figure?: Total paid minus the cash price. It combines the dealer fee and all interest into a single number representing everything you spent beyond the system itself. At the defaults it is $29,320 on a $30,000 system, which is close to buying the system twice.
Does this include the federal tax credit?: No. The residential credit under §25D is $0 for property placed in service after 31 December 2025, so there is nothing to include for most 2026 installations.; Many solar loans are structured assuming you will apply a credit as a lump sum in year one and will re-amortize upward if you do not, check whether yours does.
Does the loan put a lien on my house?: Usually not on the house, but commonly on the equipment, through a UCC-1 financing statement. That surfaces during a sale or refinance. Our page on UCC-1 filings explains what is actually filed, how consumer-goods termination works automatically within a month, and how to self-file and claim $500 if it is not released.
The salesperson says the loan payment replaces my electricity bill. Is that true?: Rarely in full. Solar offsets kilowatt-hours, but a residential bill also carries fixed charges and delivery, and our own measurement puts delivery at 53.2% of the bill across 14.7 million customers. You should expect a smaller electricity bill plus a loan payment, and you should model both together rather than accepting a swap.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated August 23, 2026. Last reviewed September 3, 2026 by the HyreSolar research desk, which writes and checks every tool on this site.

Issue Spotlight: Solar lending practices (CFPB, retrieved August 23, 2026). Source for hidden fees typically 10–30% of cash price, sometimes above 50%.
Residential Clean Energy Credit (§25D) (IRS, retrieved August 11, 2026). Basis for excluding a federal credit from this model.
U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmark (NREL, retrieved August 16, 2026). Context for the $30,000 default cash price.

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