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

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

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

Solar incentives mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. Financial incentives like these are designed to encourage more people to make the switch to renewable energy. The incentives can 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 Massachusetts and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much income tax you owe the federal government.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels could qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the value that solar panels add when calculating property taxes on your home.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar panels are up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Millbury utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some areas, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you might make back a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar other performance-based incentives might be available to you if your solar system produces over a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is typically handled by the state government. You can sell your SRECs to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is typically considered part of your taxable income.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, you probably think of federal incentives first. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a specified percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system has to have been installed after January 1, 2006, on a property owned by you for you to be eligible for the credit. The ITC originally paid out 30% of all system installation costs (panels, equipment, accessories and labor), although the amount has fluctuated over the last few years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you are eligible for. There is no cap on the claim amount.

Wondering how the ITC applies to your specific situation? Contact your local Millbury 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). The Clean Energy Credit runs 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 decrease slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. The program expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, starting in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To best understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, reach out to your local Millbury solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Millbury

Nationwide solar energy use has significantly increased in the last 15 years, in part thanks to the proliferation of solar incentives. You can obtain these incentives from your local utility company, the federal government or the Massachusetts government. It is a good idea to talk to your local Millbury solar installation expert for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting the largest number possible for your solar panels.