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

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

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

Solar incentives help mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. This category of financial incentives is intended to encourage more Americans to convert their home partially or fully to renewable energy. These incentives could include cash back, upfront discounts or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are provided by the federal government, some by the state of North Carolina and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: You can sign a net metering contract with your Summerfield utility company, that may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity that is generated by your solar panels. Your utility company will then deduct this value from your monthly utility bill.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the total amount of tax you owe the federal government. These are different from tax deductions.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the time of purchase for your solar system. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the added value of your solar system when calculating how much property tax you need to pay on your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): In general, solar systems that produce over a specific (generally small) amount of electricity qualify for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and the like are typically offered by your state government. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or another buyer, and this is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates might be provided by your state or county, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you hear the term "solar incentives," federal incentives may be the first thing that comes to mind. One of the incentives that most people are likely to be familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC is a tax credit for a predetermined percentage of your solar system's cost.

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 owned by you for you to claim the credit. Originally, the ITC covered 30% of all system installation costs (panels, equipment, accessories and labor), although the 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 know exactly how much the ITC could save you, talk to your local Summerfield solar panel installer.

In August 2022, the ITC (now called the Clean Energy Credit) was expanded and extended by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. With the new provisions, solar installation projects that are completed between 2022 and 2032 might qualify for a 30% tax credit. The amount of the credit will then decrease slightly each year until the current Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. The program expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, starting in 2023.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. Your local Summerfield 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 offered at the local or state level. As with federal incentives, these can include rebates, tax credits and more. Some incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. Your local incentives may come from the North Carolina government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Summerfield

You can qualify for solar incentives from the federal government and the North Carolina government, as well as from your local utility company. This increase in availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. Your local Summerfield solar panel installation company can provide you with more details about which incentives you should apply for, and get you feeling good about making the change to renewable energy today.