2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Mount Airy, NC - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The term "solar incentives" refers to a range of financial incentives designed to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. These incentives could include cash back, upfront discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the North Carolina government and some by your utility company, county or municipality. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption. This allows you to exclude the value added by your solar system when paying property tax on your home.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): In most cases, solar systems that produce over a threshold (normally small) amount of electricity qualify for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and the like are typically provided at the state level. SRECs can be sold to your utility company or another buyer, and generally the money you make is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: Don't forget to talk to your Mount Airy utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.

Federal Solar Incentives

When someone says "solar incentives," you likely think of federal incentives first. One of the incentives that most people are probably familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This is a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be credited towards the value of solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed after January 1, 2006, on a property you own for you to be eligible for the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all installation costs (panels, accessories, labor and equipment), although the total amount has fluctuated slightly over the years between 26-30%. The installation date of your solar system will determine what percentage you are eligible for. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To better understand how the ITC will apply to your situation, speak to your local Mount Airy solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

In August 2022, the ITC (now referred to as the Clean Energy Credit) was expanded and extended by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Clean Energy Credit has increased the current credit up to 30% for solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed by the end of 2032. After this, the percentage will see a slight decrease annually until the end of the program in 2035. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Mount Airy solar panel installer can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided at the state and local level. As with federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. These solar incentives — which may be given by your county or municipality, or by the state of North Carolina — could be offered for only a limited time, or on an ongoing basis.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Mount Airy

Solar incentives might come from your local utility company, the North Carolina government or the federal government. The variety of available incentives has contributed to a large increase in solar energy use in the last 15 years. Speaking with your local Mount Airy solar panel installer is an excellent first step towards getting the most money possible when you switch to solar energy.