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

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

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

Solar incentives mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. This category of financial incentives is in place to encourage more people to switch their home over to renewable energy. You might be eligible for several types of incentives, including discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, depending on your situation. Some incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the state of Illinois and others from the federal government. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Rebates: Solar rebates may be offered by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you pay for a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for money that typically becomes part of your taxable income. In most cases, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system qualifies for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. SRECs and similar incentives are generally handled by your state government.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Caseyville utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your monthly utility bill. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other places you might make back a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are applied at the point of sale for your solar system. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the added value of your solar system when you're calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay on your house.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are probably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about solar incentives. 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 the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. Originally, the tax credit was for 30% of the total cost – for panels, accessories, labor and equipment – although the percentage may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar project was undertaken. There is no cap on the claim amount.

Reaching out to your local Caseyville solar panel installation expert is the best way to understand how the ITC could apply to you.

In August 2022, the ITC (now called the Clean Energy Credit) was expanded and extended by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Clean Energy Credit is valid until 2035. Solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032 may qualify for a 30% tax credit. This amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. The expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you is to reach out to your local Caseyville solar panel installation expert with your questions.

State & Local Solar Incentives

There are often also state solar incentives in addition to those provided by the federal government. Rebates, tax credits and more may be available at a more local level. Incentives may be handled by the state of Illinois, or by your county or municipality. Certain incentives are available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Caseyville

You can qualify for solar incentives from the Illinois government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. Growing availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped increase solar adoption nationwide. Your local Caseyville solar panel installer can provide you with more details about which incentives you should apply for, and get you started on the path to switching to renewable energy today.