2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Monticello, MN - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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. You may be eligible for different types of incentives, including discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, depending on your situation. Certain incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the Minnesota government and others from the federal government. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk to your Monticello utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This allows you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You may receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the total amount of tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Rebates: Solar rebates may be offered by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you pay for solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, which is applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to exclude the added value of your solar system when calculating property tax for your home.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives might be the first thing that comes to mind. You might have heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit equal to a certain percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC initially applied to 30% of the cost of installing a solar system, although it has fluctuated slightly over time between 26-30%. The percentage you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. The total installation cost includes the panels themselves as well as the cost of equipment, accessories and labor. There is no maximum claim amount. The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed after January 1, 2006, on your primary or secondary residence. The residence must be owned by you and in the United States.

To best understand how the ITC will apply to your situation, reach out to your local Monticello solar panel installer and ask for more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, added more provisions to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit bolsters the current credit, increasing it up to 30% for solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032. After this, the credit percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the program expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion to the program will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

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

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often also state ones. Tax credits, rebates and more might be available at a more local level. Some incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. Local solar incentives might come from the Minnesota government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Monticello

Solar energy use nationwide has increased enormously in the last 15 years, in part due to the increase in availability of solar incentives. You might receive these incentives from the federal government, the Minnesota government or your local utility company. Reach out to your local solar panel installation company today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on solar panels for your Monticello home.