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

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

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 Americans to switch to renewable energy. Various types of incentives, like cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Some incentives may be offered by the Minnesota government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The discount that rebates offer is normally applied to the price of solar panels before calculating tax credits.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)
• Net Metering: Make sure you talk with your Lindstrom utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your utility bill every month for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when calculating property tax for your house.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is probably the most commonly known federal solar incentive. The ITC allows you to claim a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC is applied to the total cost of solar panel installation, 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 located in the United States that you own. From its original value of 30% of the total cost, the credit has fluctuated slightly between 26-30%, and you may qualify for varying percentages depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

Speaking with your local Lindstrom solar panel installer is the best way to understand how the ITC applies to your situation.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called 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; the amount will then decrease slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. Starting in 2023, the expansion will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you, get in touch with your local Lindstrom 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 rebates, tax credits and more. Some incentives are ongoing, while others might only be available for a limited time. These incentives might be provided by your county or municipality, or by the Minnesota government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Lindstrom

There are a variety of solar incentives: those given by local utility companies, those given by the Minnesota government and those given by the federal government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased tremendously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. Getting in touch with your local Lindstrom solar panel installation company is a great first step towards getting the most money possible when you switch to solar energy.