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

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to encourage homeowners to switch their home over to renewable energy by providing incentives that lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Various kinds of incentives, including cash back, discounts or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be handled by the state of North Carolina, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which would allow you to exclude the value added by your solar panels when calculating the taxes you pay on your home. You could also look for exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives might be available to you if your solar system produces more than a specified (usually small) amount of electricity. These types of incentives are usually handled at the state level. You can sell any SRECs you have to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you receive in return is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• 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 in place with your Hamlet utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some locations, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other areas you might be refunded a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: A solar rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar panels. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the type of incentives that you are most likely to have some familiarity with. An incentive that most people are likely to be familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a specified percentage of the cost of your solar system.

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

Reaching out to your local Hamlet solar panel installer is the best way to understand how the ITC could apply to you.

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. The Clean Energy Credit has increased the current credit up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. At this point, the credit percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the end of the program in 2035. The expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, starting in 2023.

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

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be provided by state and local governments. Similar to federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are only available for a limited time. They might be offered by the North Carolina government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Hamlet

There are many types of solar incentives: those provided by local utility companies, those provided by the North Carolina government and those provided by the federal government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. We recommend talking to your local Hamlet solar installation expert for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting the largest number possible for your solar system.