2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Westland, MI - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to make renewable energy usage more affordable through financial incentives for individuals who install solar panels on their homes. Various kinds of incentives, such as cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be handled by the Michigan government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. These differ from tax deductions.
• Rebates: Your solar installer might help you claim a rebate, or partial refund after purchase, for your solar panels. Counties or states will also offer limited-time rebates at various times. Any rebates you receive will usually come off your total price before any tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels might qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you exclude the added value of the solar panels when you are calculating property taxes on your house.
• Net Metering: You can sign a net metering agreement with your Westland utility company, that may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity your solar panels generate. They will then deduct this value from your monthly utility bill.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you hear the term "solar incentives," federal incentives might be the first thing that comes to mind. You may have heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This incentive is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a predetermined percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC can be applied to the total cost of installing a solar system, including the panels themselves as well as labor, accessories and equipment. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own and that 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 claim amount.

To know exactly how much money the ITC could save you, speak with your local Westland solar panel installer.

In August 2022, the ITC (now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit) was expanded and extended by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Homeowners can now receive a credit equal to 30% of the total solar system installation costs for projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed before the end of 2032. The percentage will then begin to decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. 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. To understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, reach out to your local Westland solar installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also offered at the local or state level. As with federal incentives, these might include rebates, tax credits and more. Some incentives are ongoing, while others may only be available for a limited time. These incentives might be provided by the Michigan government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Westland

You can apply for and receive solar incentives from the federal government and the Michigan government, as well as from your local utility company. Growing availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. If you're prepared to make the change to solar energy, talking to your local Westland solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.