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

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to encourage homeowners to switch to renewable energy by offering financial incentives that lower the burden of solar panel installation and use. You might be eligible for different kinds of incentives, such as 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 state of North Carolina and others from the federal government. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially partial refunds that are applied after you pay for solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar system is up and running. If you have in place a net metering agreement with your Belmont utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your monthly utility bill. In some places, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other places you might get refunded a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption. This allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for cash that is generally considered part of your taxable income. Typically, you must meet a certain (small) threshold of energy production before your solar system qualifies for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are generally handled at the state level.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some familiarity with. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is the most well-known federal solar incentive. The ITC provides a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC initially applied to 30% of the total cost of installing solar panels, although that number has fluctuated slightly over the last few years 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 labor, equipment and accessories. There is no maximum claim amount. The ITC applies to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006 on your primary or secondary residence. The residence must be in the United States and owned by you.

Contacting your local Belmont solar panel installation expert is the best way to learn more about 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. Homeowners are now eligible 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 decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. The expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Belmont solar panel company can answer your questions and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Not all solar incentives are federal; rebates, tax credits and more are often offered at the local or state level. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. Local solar incentives could come from your county or municipality, or from the North Carolina government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Belmont

The expanding number of solar incentives available has helped tremendously increase the use of solar power nationwide over the last 15 years. You can get solar incentives from your local utility company, the North Carolina government or the federal government. Call your local solar panel installation expert today to learn more and to save as much money as possible on solar panels for your Belmont home.