2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Wheat Ridge, CO - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Wheat Ridge?

Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/

Solar incentives are designed to encourage homeowners to switch their home over to renewable energy by providing financial incentives that lower the burden of solar panel installation and use. The incentives could include upfront discounts, cash back or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the state of Colorado and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be offered by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you purchase solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which let you exclude the value of your solar system when calculating the taxes you pay on your house. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement in place with your Wheat Ridge utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some locations, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in others you may be refunded a percentage of the value.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. An incentive many people are probably familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a specified percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC is applied to the total cost of solar system installation, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, accessories and labor. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence located in the United States that you own. Originally set at 30% of total costs, the credit has fluctuated over time, and you may qualify for different amounts depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

Contacting your local Wheat Ridge solar panel installation expert is the best way to understand how the ITC may apply to you.

In August 2022, the ITC (now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit) was bolstered by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. The new Clean Energy Credit extends until 2035. American homeowners are now eligible for a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation on or after January 1, 2022 and will be done by December 31, 2032. This new credit will then decrease annually until it expires. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To best understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, reach out to your local Wheat Ridge solar installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

There are often state solar incentives available in addition to federal ones. Rebates, tax credits and more can be offered at a more local level. These incentives — which may be provided by your county or municipality, or by the state of Colorado — might be offered for only a limited time, or on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Wheat Ridge

You can receive solar incentives from the Colorado government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The increased availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped increase solar adoption nationwide. We suggest talking to your local Wheat Ridge solar installation company for more information about these incentives and to be sure that you're getting all of the money you can for your solar system.