2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Bellwood, IL - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are meant to help mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. Financial incentives like these are designed to encourage more homeowners to convert their home partially or fully to renewable energy. Incentives could include things like discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are provided by the federal government, while others are offered by the state of Illinois or your specific utility company, county or municipality. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied at the time you purchase your solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your house.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much in taxes you owe the government.
• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk to your Bellwood utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You may receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives are usually handled by your state government. Once your solar system meets the threshold (normally a small amount of energy production), you can receive SRECs that can then be sold to your utility company or other buyers. The money you receive from the sale is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar companies may help you claim a rebate, or partial refund of your purchase, for your solar system. Counties or states will also offer limited-time rebates at various times. The value of a rebate will usually come off the total price before any tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives might be the first thing that comes to mind. The solar incentive that you're most familiar with is probably the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a certain percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC covers solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and under this program you can deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, equipment, accessories and labor. This credit can be claimed on 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 certain projects may qualify for only 26%, depending on the details. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

To know exactly how much the ITC could save you, speak with your local Bellwood solar panel installation expert.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now dubbed the Clean Energy Credit. The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. You 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. The total credit will then decrease annually until the date of expiration. The expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to speak with your local Bellwood solar panel company directly.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also offered at the local or state level. Similar to federal incentives, these may include tax credits, rebates and more. These incentives may be given out by the Illinois government, or by your county or municipality. Certain incentives are available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Bellwood

The nationwide use of solar energy has gone up significantly in the past 15 years, in part thanks to the growth in the number of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from your local utility company, the federal government or the Illinois government. It is a good idea to talk to your local Bellwood solar installation company for more information about these incentives and to be sure that you're getting the most money possible for your solar system.