2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Newton, KS - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. This category of financial incentives is designed to encourage more homeowners to switch to renewable energy. The incentives might include upfront discounts, cash back or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are given by the federal government, some by the state of Kansas and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your local utility company, or by your state or county. These rebates are essentially partial refunds that are applied after you purchase solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panel system may qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions come into effect at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you exclude the added value of the solar panels when calculating property taxes on your home.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get after your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Newton utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some locations, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other places you may make back a percentage of the value.

Federal Solar Incentives

When people think of solar incentives, federal incentives may be the first thing that comes to mind. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is probably the most well-known federal solar incentive. The ITC offers a tax credit for a specific percentage of your solar system's cost.

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

Your local Newton solar panel installation expert can provide more information about the ITC and how it may apply to your situation.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. You can now receive a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation after January 1, 2022, and are completed by the end of 2032. This credit will then see a slight annual decrease until its expiration. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Newton solar panel installer can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Rebates, tax credits and more can be provided at multiple levels. In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. These solar incentives — which may be provided by your county or municipality, or by the state of Kansas — might be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Newton

The nationwide use of solar energy has gone up significantly in the past 15 years, in part thanks to the growth in the number of solar incentives. You might receive these incentives from your local utility company, the Kansas government or the federal government. When you're ready to make the change to solar energy, reaching out to your local Newton solar panel installation expert is a great first step.