2024 Solar Incentives Guide for Belle Chasse, LA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The term "solar incentives" generally refers to financial incentives implemented by the government and by solar companies to encourage increased use of renewable energy by making the installation and use of solar panels more affordable. Incentives can include things like discounts, cash back or credit on your utility bill each month. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, while others are offered by the Louisiana government or your utility company, county or municipality. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk to your Belle Chasse utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow 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.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar system might qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value added by your solar panels when you are calculating property taxes on your home.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar system. Rebates could be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.

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Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are likely to be the first thing that you think of when thinking about solar incentives. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a specified percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC applies to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar panels must have been installed after January 1, 2006, on a property you own for you to be eligible for the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all installation costs (panels, labor, accessories and equipment), although the 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 claim amount.

To best understand how the ITC might apply to you, call your local Belle Chasse solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, added more provisions to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit is valid until 2035. Any solar installation project that is completed between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2032, may qualify for a 30% tax credit. This amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the end of the current program. The expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Belle Chasse solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these might include rebates, tax credits and more. These incentives may be distributed by the Louisiana government, or by your county or municipality. Some incentives may be available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Belle Chasse

There are many kinds of solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those offered by the Louisiana government and those given by the federal government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. Talking to your local Belle Chasse solar panel installer is an excellent first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.