2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Round Lake Beach, IL - Tax Credits & Rebates

What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in Round Lake Beach?

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for individuals who install solar panels on their homes. Various kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the Illinois government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Rebates: Your solar installer might help you claim a rebate, or partial refund of your purchase, for your solar panels. Counties or states will also offer limited-time rebates at various times. If you receive a rebate, that amount will usually come off your total price before any tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant once your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Round Lake Beach utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some locations, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other places you might receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits lower, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, which is applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the value added by your solar system when calculating property tax for your home.
• 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. Typically, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system can earn SRECs or other performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are normally handled by your state government.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. The solar incentive that you're most likely to have heard of is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a predetermined percentage of the cost of your solar system.

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

Your local Round Lake Beach solar panel installer can provide you with more information about the ITC and how it might apply to your situation.

In August 2022, the ITC (now titled the Clean Energy Credit) was bolstered by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. Homeowners can now receive 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 be decreased by a few percentage points every year until the date of expiration. The program expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The best way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to talk with your local Round Lake Beach solar panel installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to those provided at the federal level, there are often also state solar incentives. Tax credits, rebates and more may be available at a more local level. Certain incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. These local incentives could come from the Illinois government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Round Lake Beach

There are a number of different 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. Solar energy use has increased enormously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. Talking to your local Round Lake Beach solar panel installation expert is the best first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.