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

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

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

Solar incentives help mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. This category of financial incentives is designed to encourage more Americans to switch their home over to renewable energy. You may be eligible for several types of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, depending on your situation. Some incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the state of New Jersey and others from the federal government. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, which is applied at the time you purchase your solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to exclude the value added by your solar system when paying property tax on your house.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be provided by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as partial refunds that are applied after you pay for solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar performance-based incentives are typically handled at the state level. Once your solar system meets the threshold (normally a small amount of energy production), you are eligible to receive SRECs that you can then sell to your utility company or other buyers. The money you make is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get once your solar panels are up and running. If you've signed a net metering agreement with your Gloucester City utility company, they will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your utility bill each month. In some places, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in others you may be refunded a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in the amount of tax that you owe the federal government.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some knowledge of. One of the incentives that most people are likely familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a certain percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies to solar panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Originally, the tax credit was for 30% of the total cost — for panels, labor, accessories and equipment — although that amount may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar project was undertaken. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To better understand how the ITC might apply to your situation, call your local Gloucester City solar panel installation expert and request more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit runs until 2035. Your solar installation project undertaken between 2022 and 2032 may qualify for a 30% tax credit; this amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. The 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 Gloucester City solar panel installation experts can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Tax credits, rebates and more might be claimed at multiple levels. On top of federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. Certain incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. These local incentives could come from the New Jersey government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Gloucester City

The nationwide use of solar energy has significantly increased in the last 15 years, in part due to the proliferation of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from your local utility company, the federal government or the New Jersey government. Your local Gloucester City solar panel installation company can give you more information about which incentives you might qualify for, and get you started on the path to switching to renewable energy today.