2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Glen Burnie, MD - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" covers a wide range of financial incentives implemented to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. These incentives could include cash back, upfront discounts or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are given by the federal government, some by the state of Maryland and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might 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.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for cash that is generally considered part of your taxable income. Generally, there is a small threshold of energy production to meet before your solar system can earn SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are generally handled by your state government.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get after your solar panels are up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Glen Burnie utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some places, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in others you might receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: Solar rebates might be offered by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as partial refunds that are applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are applied at the point of sale for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value that your solar panels add when calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay on your house.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are likely to be the first thing that you think of when you think about solar incentives. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to a certain percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies towards 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, equipment and accessories. You can receive this credit for a solar panel system installed on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. Originally, you could claim 30% of the total cost, although depending on when the project was completed, your credit may range from 26-30%. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

To better understand exactly how much the ITC could save you, talk to your local Glen Burnie solar panel installer.

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 re-raises the credit up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. At this point, the credit percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the end of the program in 2035. The expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Glen Burnie solar panel installer can answer your questions and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to those provided at the federal level, there are often also state solar incentives. Rebates, tax credits and more can be offered at a more local level. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. Your local incentives might come from your county or municipality, or from the Maryland government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Glen Burnie

Solar incentives might be provided by the federal government, the Maryland government or your local utility company. The variety of available incentives has facilitated the nationwide growth of solar energy use in the last 15 years. It is a good idea to talk to your local Glen Burnie solar installer for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting all of the money you can for your solar panels.