2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Miami Lakes, FL - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Miami Lakes?

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable through financial incentives for individuals who install solar panels on their homes. Different kinds of incentives, like cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the state of Florida, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar panels are up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Miami Lakes utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some areas, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you might make back a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.
• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which would allow you to exclude the value added by your solar panels when calculating the taxes you pay on your home. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the total amount of tax you owe the government. These differ from tax deductions.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. You've likely heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit equal to a predetermined percentage of the money you spend on your solar system.

The ITC covers solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and lets you deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, equipment, accessories and labor. You can claim this credit for solar panels installed on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although depending on when the project was completed, your credit may range from 26-30%. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

Contacting your local Miami Lakes solar panel installer is the best way to learn more about how the ITC may apply to you.

In August 2022, the ITC (now titled the Clean Energy Credit) was bolstered by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Clean Energy Credit bolsters the current credit, increasing it up to 30% for solar installations undertaken between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2032. At this point, the credit percentage will decrease slightly each year until the end of the program in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion to the program will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, talk to your local Miami Lakes solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more can be claimed at multiple levels. On top of federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. These solar incentives — which may be provided by your county or municipality, or by the state of Florida — could be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Miami Lakes

There are a number of different solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those offered by the federal government and those provided by the Florida government, to name a few. Solar energy utilization has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. Talking to your local Miami Lakes solar panel installer is an excellent first step towards getting the most money possible when you switch to solar energy.