2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Apex, NC - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. Different kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be provided via the North Carolina government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Types of solar incentives might include:

• 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.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for money that is generally considered part of your taxable income. Generally, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system qualifies for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are typically handled at the state level.
• Net Metering: Be sure to speak with your Apex utility company about signing a net metering contract. This allows you to receive credit towards your utility bill every month for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You might receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar panels. Rebates might 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 Exemptions: Your solar panels may qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the value that solar panels add when you are calculating property taxes on your house.

Federal Solar Incentives

When people think of solar incentives, federal incentives may be the first thing that comes to mind. The solar incentive that you're most familiar with is probably the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to a specified 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 equipment, accessories and labor. This credit can be claimed for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence located in the United States that you own. Originally set at 30% of total costs, the credit has fluctuated over time, and you may qualify for different amounts depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

To more fully understand how the ITC may apply to your situation, get in touch with your local Apex solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now qualify for a credit equal to 30% of the total costs of solar system installation for projects that began after January 1, 2022 and will be finished by the end of 2032. The percentage will then begin to decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. Starting in 2023, the expansion to the program will also make it easier to get credit for energy storage systems.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The easiest way to understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to reach out to your local Apex solar panel installation expert with your questions.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more might be claimed at multiple levels. Along with federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones, too. These incentives may be provided by the North Carolina government, or by your county or municipality. Some incentives may be ongoing, while others are available for a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Apex

Solar incentives may come from the North Carolina government, the federal government or your local utility company. The growing number of available incentives has contributed to a large increase in solar energy use in the last 15 years. We suggest talking to your local Apex solar installation expert to learn more about these incentives and to be sure that you're getting all of the money you can for your solar system.