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

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" broadly refers to financial incentives designed to encourage people to use renewable energy by making the installation and use of solar panels more affordable. Different types of incentives, including discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, may be available to you. Certain incentives may be provided via the state of North Carolina, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels may qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value added by your solar panels when you are calculating property taxes on your home.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for money that normally counts as part of your taxable income. In most cases, there is a small threshold of energy production to meet before your solar system is eligible for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are generally handled by your state government.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get after your solar panels are up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Silver Lake utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your monthly utility bill. In some locations, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other places you may get refunded a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are normally applied before any solar tax credits are calculated. Solar rebates may be given by your local utility company, by your state or by your county.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a predetermined percentage of the money you spend on solar panels for your home.

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

To best understand how the ITC will apply to you, get in touch with your local Silver Lake solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act expanded and extended the ITC, now titled the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now receive a credit equal to 30% of the total costs of solar system installation for projects that began after January 1, 2022 and will be finished by the end of 2032. The credit percentage will then begin to decrease yearly until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, beginning in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The best way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to speak with your local Silver Lake solar panel installers directly.

State & Local Solar Incentives

In addition to those provided at the federal level, there are often also state solar incentives. Tax credits, rebates and more may be available at a more local level. Some incentives are ongoing, while others are available for a limited time. These incentives may be given by your county or municipality, or by the North Carolina government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Silver Lake

There are a number of different solar incentives: those provided by the federal government, those provided by the North Carolina government and those provided by local utility companies, to name a few. The use of solar energy has grown enormously in the last 15 years, partially thanks to these incentives. Reach out to your local solar panel installation company today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on solar panels for your Silver Lake home.