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

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

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

The term "solar incentives" includes a range of financial incentives put in place to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are provided by the federal government, while others are offered by the North Carolina government or your specific utility company, county or municipality. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar panels. These 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 Exemptions: Your solar panel system might qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are effective at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value added by your solar panels when calculating property taxes on your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for cash that normally counts as part of your taxable income. Generally, there is a small threshold of energy production to meet before your solar system can earn SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. Incentives like these are generally handled by your state government.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get once your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Fuquay Varina utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some areas, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you may be refunded a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much income tax you owe the federal government.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are likely to be the first thing that you think of when thinking about solar incentives. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to 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 accessories, labor and equipment. This credit can be claimed for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence that you own, as long as it is located in the United States. 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 amount you can claim.

Your local Fuquay Varina solar panel installation expert can give you more information about the ITC and how it applies to your situation.

The ITC was both renewed and expanded by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. With the new provisions, solar installation projects begun after January 1, 2022 and finished by December 31, 2032 might qualify for a 30% tax credit. The amount of the credit will then see a slight annual decrease until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. The program expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, starting in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. Your local Fuquay Varina solar panel company can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more can be provided at multiple levels. On top of federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. Some incentives are ongoing, while others are available for a limited time. They might be given by the North Carolina government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Fuquay Varina

The nationwide use of solar energy has significantly increased in the last 15 years, in part thanks to the growth in the number of solar incentives. You might receive these incentives from the federal government, the North Carolina government or your local utility company. We suggest talking to your local Fuquay Varina solar installation company for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting the largest number possible for your solar panels.