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

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. Financial incentives like these are in place to encourage more people to convert their home partially or fully to renewable energy. Incentives could include things like discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits. Some incentives are handled federally, while others are provided by the Illinois government or by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels may qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the added value of the solar panels when calculating property taxes on your home.
• Net Metering: Be sure to speak with your Medina utility company about signing a net metering contract. This allows you to receive credit towards your utility bill every month for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are generally handled by your state government. Once your solar system meets a certain threshold (typically a small amount of energy production), you are eligible to receive SRECs that can then be sold to your utility company or other buyers. The money you receive from the sale is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be provided by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you purchase a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much in taxes you owe the government.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you hear the term "solar incentives," federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. An incentive that most people are likely familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a given percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC originally covered 30% of the total cost of solar panel installation, although that number has fluctuated slightly over the years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you qualify for. The cost of installation includes the panels themselves as well as the cost of labor, equipment and accessories. There is no maximum amount you can claim. The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed after January 1, 2006, on your primary or secondary residence. The residence must be in the United States and owned by you.

Talking to your local Medina solar panel installation expert is the best way to understand how the ITC could apply to you.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made some changes to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit is valid until 2035. Any solar installation project that is completed between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2032, may qualify for a 30% tax credit. This amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. Starting in 2023, the program 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. Your local Medina solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Not all solar incentives are federal; tax credits, rebates and more may be offered at the local or state level. Incentives might be offered by the state of Illinois, or by your county or municipality. Certain incentives may be available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Medina

There are a number of different solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those offered by the Illinois government and those given by the federal government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. It is a good idea to talk to your local Medina solar installation company for more information about these incentives and to ensure that you're getting the most money possible for your solar panels.