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

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

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

Solar incentives help mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. This category of financial incentives is designed to encourage more homeowners to make the switch to renewable energy. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or credit on your utility bill each month. Some incentives are offered federally, while others are handled by the North Carolina government or by your utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives may be available to you if your solar system produces over a specified (typically small) amount of electricity. These types of incentives are normally handled at the state level. You can sell your SRECs to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, which is applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the value added by your solar system when calculating property tax for your house.
• Tax Credits: These credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much income tax you owe the federal government.
• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your state or county, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after you pay for a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in once your solar system is up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Morrisville 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 is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other places you may receive a refund equivalent to a percentage of the value.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, federal incentives might be the first thing that comes to mind. 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 specified percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Initially, the credit applied to 30% of the total cost — for panels, accessories, equipment and labor — although the percentage may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar project was undertaken. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To more fully understand how the ITC might apply to your situation, reach out to your local Morrisville solar panel installer and ask for more information.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The new Clean Energy Credit is valid until 2035. Homeowners can now receive a 30% credit for solar systems installed between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2032. This credit will then decrease annually until it expires. The expansion to the program also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, starting in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you, speak with your local Morrisville solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more might be claimed at multiple levels. Along with federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones, too. Incentives may be given by your county or municipality, or by the state of North Carolina. Some incentives are available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Morrisville

The nationwide use of solar energy has gone up significantly in the last 15 years, in part thanks to the proliferation of solar incentives. You might receive these incentives from your local utility company, the North Carolina government or the federal government. Talking to your local Morrisville solar panel installation company is the right first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.