2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Hanover, MA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" refers to a range of financial incentives put in place to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. Different kinds of incentives, such as cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, might be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the state of Massachusetts, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant after your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Hanover utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other areas you may receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels may qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value that solar panels add when calculating property taxes on your home.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives are normally handled at the state level. Once your solar panel system meets the threshold (generally a small amount of energy production), you can receive SRECs that you can then sell to your utility company or other buyers. The money you make is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be offered by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially partial refunds that are applied after you pay for a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When people think of solar incentives, federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is probably the most commonly known federal solar incentive. The ITC allows you to claim a tax credit for a set percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and under this program you can deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, accessories and equipment. This credit can be claimed on solar panels installed on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although the amount you can claim may range between 26-30%. There is no maximum claim amount.

Wondering how the ITC applies to your specific situation? Get in touch with your local Hanover solar panel installation expert to get more information.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act expanded and extended the ITC, now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now receive a credit equal to 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. This percentage will then begin to decrease yearly until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. The expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, beginning in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, get in touch with your local Hanover solar installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. As with federal incentives, these could include rebates, tax credits and more. Some incentives are ongoing, while others might only be available for a limited time. Incentives might be given by your county or municipality, or by the Massachusetts government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Hanover

You can apply for and receive solar incentives from the Massachusetts government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The growing availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped increase solar adoption nationwide. Reach out to your local solar panel installation company today to find out more information and to save as much money as possible on solar panels for your Hanover home.