2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Camden, NJ - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to mitigate the cost of installing a solar panel system on your home. This category of financial incentives is designed to encourage more people to convert their home partially or fully to renewable energy. Different types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the New Jersey government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives may be available to you if your solar system produces more than a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. This category of incentives is normally handled at the state level. You can sell any SRECs you have to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant once your solar panels are up and running. If you have a net metering agreement in place with your Camden utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your monthly utility bill. In some locations, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other places you might make back a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the time of purchase for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the added value of your solar system when you calculate the amount of property tax you need to pay on your home.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are typically given prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. These rebates can be offered by your local utility company, by your county or by your state.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some familiarity with. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is likely the most well-known federal solar incentive. The ITC allows you to claim a tax credit for a specific percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006 and allows you to deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, accessories and equipment. You can claim this credit for a solar panel system installed on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although depending on when the project was completed, your credit may range from 26-30%. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

To better understand how the ITC will apply to you, contact your local Camden solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following 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. You can now receive a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation after January 1, 2022 and are completed by the end of 2032. The credit will then decrease annually until its expiration. The program expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to talk with your local Camden solar panel installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more can be provided at multiple levels. In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. These incentives may be provided by your county or municipality, or by the New Jersey government. Some incentives may be available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Camden

There are a number of different solar incentives: those provided by local utility companies, those provided by the New Jersey government and those provided by the federal government, to name a few. Solar energy use has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially thanks to these incentives. Contact your local solar panel installer today to learn more and to save the most money possible on a solar system for your Camden home.