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

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. The incentives could 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 utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the government. These are different from tax deductions.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for money that normally counts as part of your taxable income. Generally, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system is eligible for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and similar incentives are generally handled by your state government.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund given after you've purchased your solar system. These may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The discount that rebates offer is normally applied to the price of solar panels 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 a net metering agreement with your Wilkesboro utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your monthly utility bill. In some areas, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other areas you might make back a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions may come in one of two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied at the time you purchase your 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 house.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you hear the term "solar incentives," federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit equal to a predetermined percentage of the money you spend on your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006 for you to claim the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all installation costs (panels, labor, accessories and equipment), although this amount has fluctuated over time 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.

Your local Wilkesboro solar panel installer can provide more information about the ITC and how it applies to your situation.

The ITC was both renewed and expanded by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit lasts until 2035. Solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022 and completed by the end of 2032 may qualify for a 30% tax credit; this amount will then decrease slightly on a yearly basis until the end of the current program. The program expansion 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. The easiest way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you is to speak with your local Wilkesboro solar panel company directly.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Not all solar incentives are federal; rebates, tax credits and more may be offered at the state and local level. These solar incentives — which might be given by the state of North Carolina, or by your county or municipality — may be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Wilkesboro

There are many types of solar incentives: those given by local utility companies, those given by the North Carolina government and those given by the federal government, to name a few. Solar energy use has grown enormously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. Getting in touch with your local Wilkesboro solar panel installation expert is a great first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.