2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Cartersville, GA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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. Various types of incentives, such as cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Some incentives may be offered by the Georgia government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The discount that rebates offer is normally applied to the price of solar panels before calculating tax credits.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are applied at the point of sale for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the value that your solar panels add when you calculate how much property tax you need to pay on your house.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Cartersville utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some areas, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in others you may get refunded a percentage of the value.

Federal Solar Incentives

When people think of solar incentives, federal incentives may be the first thing that comes to mind. A federal incentive many people are probably familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a given percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC covers solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and allows you to deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, equipment, accessories and labor. You can claim this credit for a solar panel system 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.

To more fully understand how the ITC could apply to your situation, contact your local Cartersville solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now called the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now qualify for a credit equal to 30% of the total solar system installation costs for projects that began after January 1, 2022, and will be finished by the end of 2032. The percentage will then decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion will also make claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The best way to understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to get in touch with your local Cartersville solar panel installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more can be provided at multiple levels. In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others might only be available for a limited time. Solar incentives might be given by the Georgia government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Cartersville

The nationwide use of solar energy has significantly increased in the last 15 years, in part thanks to the increase in availability of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from your local utility company, the Georgia government or the federal government. Reaching out to your local Cartersville solar panel installer is the right first step towards getting the most money possible when you switch to solar energy.