2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Murphysboro, IL - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to make renewable energy usage more affordable through financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. These incentives may include cash back, upfront discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the state of Illinois and some by your utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Don't forget to speak to your Murphysboro utility company about signing a net metering contract. This allows you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You might receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar system. Rebates could be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives may be available to you if your solar system produces more than a specified (typically small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is typically handled by the state government. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you receive in return is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
• Tax Exemptions: These can come in the form of property tax exemptions, which can let you exclude the value added by your solar panels when paying taxes on your home. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the type of incentives that you are most likely to have heard of. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a specified percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be credited towards the value of solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006 for you to be eligible for the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all costs (panels, equipment, labor and accessories), although this amount has fluctuated slightly over time between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

Have questions about how the ITC applies to your specific situation? Contact your local Murphysboro solar panel installer to get more information.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit re-raises the credit up to 30% for solar installations undertaken between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2032. After 2032, the credit percentage will decrease slightly each year until the end of the program in 2035. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To better understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you, talk to your local Murphysboro solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Murphysboro

There are many types of solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those offered by the federal government and those offered by the Illinois government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, partially thanks to these incentives. Call your local solar panel installation expert today to find out more information and to save the most money possible on a solar system for your Murphysboro home.