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

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives to help people install solar panels on their homes. The incentives may include upfront discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are handled 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:

• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives may be available to you if the solar system on your home produces over a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. Performance-based incentives are typically handled by the state government. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits lower, dollar-for-dollar, how much income tax you owe the federal government. These differ from tax deductions.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Willowbrook utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some areas, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other areas you might receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: These can come in the form of property tax exemptions, which can let you ignore the value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar panels. Rebates could be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The cash back that you get from the rebates is normally applied before calculating tax credits.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. You might have heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This is a tax credit equal to a certain percentage of the money you spend on solar panels for your home.

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

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

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). With the new provisions, solar installation projects that are completed between 2022 and 2032 may be eligible for a 30% tax credit. The amount of the credit will then see a slight annual decrease until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. Beginning in 2023, it will also be easier to obtain credits for energy storage systems with the new act.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The easiest way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you is to get in touch with your local Willowbrook solar panel installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Willowbrook

There are a variety of solar incentives: those given by the federal government, those given by the Illinois government and those given by local utility companies, to name a few. The use of solar energy has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. Your local Willowbrook solar panel installation expert can give you more information about which incentives you can apply for, and get you feeling good about making the change to renewable energy today.