2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Brooklyn Park, MN - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives to help people install solar panels on their homes. Various types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the state of Minnesota, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement in place with your Brooklyn Park utility company, they 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 other places you may receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The cash back that you get from the rebates is normally applied before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the time of purchase for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions let you exclude the value that your solar panels add when you're calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay on your house.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.

Federal Solar Incentives

When someone says "solar incentives," you likely think of federal incentives first. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is probably the best-known federal solar incentive. The ITC provides you with a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC can be credited towards the value of solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must 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, labor, equipment and accessories), although the amount has fluctuated slightly 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.

Your local Brooklyn Park solar panel installation expert can give you more information about the ITC and how it applies to your situation.

The ITC was both renewed and expanded by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The new Clean Energy Credit now runs until 2035. Homeowners are now eligible for a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation after January 1, 2022 and are completed by the end of 2032. This credit will then decrease annually until it expires. The program 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. To better understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you, speak with your local Brooklyn Park solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be offered at the local or state level. Like with federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. Incentives might be given by the state of Minnesota, or by your county or municipality. Certain incentives are available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Brooklyn Park

You can apply for and receive solar incentives from the federal government and the Minnesota government, as well as from your local utility company. The growing availability of solar initiatives over the last 15 years has helped greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. Call your local solar panel installation company today to learn more and to save the most money possible on a solar system for your Brooklyn Park home.