2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Crawfordsville, IN - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are meant to encourage people to switch their home over to renewable energy by providing incentives that lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Different types of incentives, like discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the state of Indiana, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
• Rebates: Some solar companies will help you claim a rebate, or partial refund after purchase, for your solar system. States or counties will also sometimes offer limited-time rebates. Any rebates you receive will usually be deducted from your total price before tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Make sure you talk with your Crawfordsville utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This allows you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill 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.
• Tax Exemptions: These could come in the form of property tax exemptions, which let you exclude the value added by your solar panels when paying property tax on your house. 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 some familiarity with. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This incentive is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a certain percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC is applied to the total cost of installing solar panels, including the panels themselves as well as accessories, labor and equipment. This credit can be claimed for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence located in the United States that you own. The tax credit ranges from 26-30% of total costs depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

To better understand how the ITC will apply to you, speak to your local Crawfordsville solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now called the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners are now eligible for a credit of 30% of the total solar system installation costs for projects that began after January 1, 2022 and will be finished by the end of 2032. The credit percentage will then decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion will also make it easier to get credit for energy storage systems.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To best understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you, speak with your local Crawfordsville solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be offered at the local or state level. Like with federal incentives, these could include tax credits, rebates and more. Incentives might be handled by the state of Indiana, 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 Crawfordsville

You can receive solar incentives from the Indiana government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The increased availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. Contact your local solar panel installer today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on solar panels for your Crawfordsville home.