2025 Solar Incentives Guide for West Plains, MO - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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 several types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, depending on your situation. Certain incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the Missouri government and others from the federal government. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Rebates: Solar rebates might be offered by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after your purchase of solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in one of 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 paying property tax on your house.
• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Net Metering: You can sign a net metering agreement with your West Plains utility company that will 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.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have heard of. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC 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 solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and lets you deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, accessories and equipment. You can receive this credit for solar panels installed on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although depending on when the project was completed, your credit may range from 26-30%. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

Contacting your local West Plains solar panel installation expert is the best way to understand how the ITC could apply to your situation.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit runs until 2035. Your solar installation project undertaken between 2022 and 2032 may qualify for a 30% tax credit. This amount will be decreased slightly each year until the current program ends. The expansion to the program also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. Your local West Plains solar panel installation expert is the best person to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these can include rebates, tax credits and more. Incentives may be handled by your county or municipality, or by the state of Missouri. Certain incentives might only be available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in West Plains

There are many kinds of solar incentives: those given by local utility companies, those given by the Missouri government and those offered by the federal government, to name a few. Solar energy use has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. If you're ready to make the change to solar energy, getting in touch with your local West Plains solar panel installation expert is a great first step.