2024 Solar Incentives Guide for Hendersonville, NC - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" generally refers to financial incentives that are in place to encourage the use of renewable energy by making solar panels more affordable. You may be eligible for various kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, depending on your situation. Some incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the North Carolina government and others from the federal government. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar system. These might be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The discount that rebates offer is normally applied to the price of solar panels before calculating tax credits.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): Typically, solar systems that produce over a specific (usually small) amount of electricity qualify for SRECs or other similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and similar incentives are typically provided by your state government. SRECs can be sold to your utility company or another buyer, and the money you receive is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels might qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the value that solar panels add when you are calculating property taxes on your house.
• Tax Credits: These credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much in taxes you owe the federal government.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar panels are up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Hendersonville utility company, it 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 others you may receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.

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Federal Solar Incentives

When someone says "solar incentives," you probably think of federal incentives first. The solar incentive that you're most familiar with is probably the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which gives you a credit on your taxes equal to a certain percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies to the value of a solar system installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006, for you to be eligible for the credit. The ITC originally paid out 30% of all installation costs (panels, equipment, labor and accessories), although this amount has fluctuated slightly over the years between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the claim amount.

To better understand how the ITC could apply to you, call your local Hendersonville solar panel installation expert and request more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). For solar system installations that begin after January 1, 2022, and are completed by the end of 2032, homeowners can receive a credit equal to 30% of the total cost. This percentage will decrease annually after 2032 until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To better understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, talk to your local Hendersonville solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be provided by state and local governments. Like with federal incentives, these may include tax credits, rebates and more. These incentives may be provided by your county or municipality, or by the North Carolina government. Some incentives may be ongoing, while others are available for a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Hendersonville

There are a number of different solar incentives: those offered by the federal government, those provided by the North Carolina government and those given by local utility companies, to name a few. The use of solar energy has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. When you're prepared to switch over to solar energy, talking to your local Hendersonville solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.