2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Pennsauken, NJ - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for individuals who install solar panels on their homes. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or credit on your utility bill each month. Some incentives are offered federally, while others are handled by the New Jersey government or by your utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits are different from tax deductions.
• Rebates: Some solar companies will help you claim a rebate, or partial refund after purchase, for your solar system. Counties or states will also sometimes offer limited-time rebates. Any rebates you receive will usually be deducted from the total price before any tax credits are calculated.
• Net Metering: Net metering is an incentive you can get after your solar system is up and running. If you have in place a net metering agreement with your Pennsauken utility company, it 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 others you may get refunded a percentage of the value.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are generally handled by your state government. Once your solar system meets a predetermined threshold (typically a small amount of energy production), you can receive SRECs that can be sold to your utility company or other buyers. The money you receive from the sale is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can 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, which allows you to ignore the added value of your solar system when paying property tax on your home.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are probably the first thing that you think of when thinking about solar incentives. The solar incentive that you're most familiar with is probably the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to a specified percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies to the value of a solar system installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar panels must have been installed after January 1, 2006, on a property owned by you for you to be eligible for the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all system installation costs (panels, equipment, accessories and labor), although this amount has fluctuated over time between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

To best understand how the ITC may apply to your situation, contact your local Pennsauken solar panel installer and request more information.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now dubbed 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; the amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the current program ends. Starting in 2023, it will also be easier to get credits for energy storage systems under the new laws.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to get in touch with your local Pennsauken solar panel installation expert.

State & Local Solar Incentives

There are often also state solar incentives in addition to those provided by the federal government. Tax credits, rebates and more might be available at a more local level. Some incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. These local incentives may come from the New Jersey government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Pennsauken

There are many types of solar incentives: those given by local utility companies, those provided by the federal government and those provided by the New Jersey government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased enormously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. It is a good idea to talk to your local Pennsauken solar installer for more information about these incentives and to ensure that you're getting the largest number possible for your solar panels.