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

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

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

Solar incentives are meant to encourage people to make the switch to renewable energy by offering incentives meant to lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Different kinds of incentives, like cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be provided via the state of Illinois, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
• Net Metering: You may be able to sign a net metering agreement with your LaSalle utility company. This agreement may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity that is generated by your solar panels. Your utility company will then subtract this value from your monthly utility bill.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, which is applied at the time you purchase your solar panels. The second is property tax exemption. This allows you to exclude the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for cash that is generally considered part of your taxable income. In most cases, there is a small threshold of energy production to meet before your solar system can earn SRECs or other performance-based incentives. Incentives like these are typically handled by your state government.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are typically applied before any solar tax credits are calculated. These rebates can be given by your local utility company, by your county or by your state.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are likely the first thing that you think of when you think about solar incentives. You've likely heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This is a tax credit equal to a specified percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC applies to the value of solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system has to have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006, for you to claim the credit. The ITC originally paid out 30% of all system installation costs (panels, accessories, equipment and labor), although the covered amount has fluctuated over the years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you are eligible for. There is no cap on the claim amount.

To know exactly how much money the ITC could save you, talk to your local LaSalle solar panel installation expert.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. You can now apply for a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation after January 1, 2022, and are completed by the end of 2032. This credit will then be decreased by a few percentage points every year until its expiration. 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. Your local LaSalle solar panel installer can answer your questions and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in LaSalle

The nationwide use of solar energy has gone up tremendously in the past 15 years, in part due to the proliferation of solar incentives. You can obtain these incentives from your local utility company, the Illinois government or the federal government. Your local LaSalle solar panel installer can provide you with more details about which incentives you should apply for, and get you feeling good about making the change to renewable energy today.