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

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. This category of financial incentives is in place to encourage more Americans to make the switch to renewable energy. Incentives might 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 state of Maryland or by your utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. These are different from tax deductions.
• Net Metering: You can sign a net metering contract with your Seabrook utility company, that may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity that is generated by your solar panels. They will then subtract this value from your monthly utility bill.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are normally applied before any solar tax credits are calculated. Solar rebates might be offered by your local utility company, by your county or by your state.
• Tax Exemptions: These may come in the form of property tax exemptions, which let you exclude the value of your solar system when calculating the taxes you pay on your house. You may also qualify for an exemption on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives might be available to you if you have a solar system that produces over a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. These types of incentives are generally handled at the state level. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you receive in return is generally considered part of your taxable income.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. One of the incentives many people are likely familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a specified percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to the total cost of solar panel installation, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, accessories and labor. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence that you own, as long as it is located in the United States. The tax credit ranges from 26-30% of total costs depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

Your local Seabrook solar panel installer can offer more information about the ITC and how it may apply to your situation.

In August 2022, the ITC (now called the Clean Energy Credit) was bolstered by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Under the new program, solar installation projects begun after January 1, 2022 and finished by December 31, 2032 can qualify for a 30% tax credit. This credit amount will then see a slight annual decrease until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, beginning in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To better understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you, speak with your local Seabrook solar installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also offered at the local or state level. As with federal incentives, these can include tax credits, rebates and more. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. Your local solar incentives could come from your county or municipality, or from the Maryland government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Seabrook

There are a variety of solar incentives: those offered by the federal government, those offered by the Maryland government and those offered by local utility companies, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. Reaching out to your local Seabrook solar panel installation expert is the best first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.