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

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

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

Solar incentives encourage homeowners to make the switch to renewable energy by offering financial incentives meant to lower the burden of solar panel installation and use. These incentives can include cash back, upfront discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are handled by the federal government, some by the state of North Carolina and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which allow you to ignore the value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home. You could also look for exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)
• 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.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get once your solar panels are up and running. If you have in place a net metering agreement with your Lumberton utility company, it 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 other places you might get refunded a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are generally handled at the state level. Once your solar panel system meets a certain threshold (typically a small amount of energy production), you are eligible to receive SRECs that you can then sell to your utility company or other buyers. The money you receive is generally considered part of your taxable income.

Federal Solar Incentives

When someone says "solar incentives," you likely think of federal incentives first. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is likely the best-known federal solar incentive. The ITC allows you to claim a tax credit for a specific percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC initially applied to 30% of the total cost of installing a solar system, and has fluctuated slightly over the years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you qualify for. 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.

To know exactly how much the ITC could save you, contact your local Lumberton solar panel installer.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit bolsters the current credit, increasing it up to 30% for solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022 and completed by the end of 2032. After this, the credit percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the program expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, it will also be easier to obtain credits for energy storage systems under this new program.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Lumberton solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

There are often also state solar incentives in addition to those provided by the federal government. Tax credits, rebates and more can be offered at a more local level. These solar incentives — which might be handled by your county or municipality, or by the state of North Carolina — might be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Lumberton

Solar incentives might be provided by your local utility company, the federal government or the North Carolina government. The growing number of incentives available has helped nationwide use of solar energy increase greatly in the last 15 years. When you're prepared to make the change to solar energy, getting in touch with your local Lumberton solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.