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

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

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

The term "solar incentives" generally refers to financial incentives that are in place to encourage the adoption and use renewable energy by making installing and using solar panels more affordable. You might qualify for different kinds of incentives, including 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 New Jersey government and others from the federal government. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Net Metering: Be sure to talk to your Roselle Park utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You may receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be provided by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): Typically, solar systems that produce more than a predetermined (usually small) amount of electricity qualify for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. SRECs and the like are typically offered at the state level. SRECs can be sold to your utility company or another buyer, and generally the money you make is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. These differ from tax deductions.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the point of sale for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the value added by your solar system when you're calculating how much property tax you need to pay.

Federal Solar Incentives

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

The ITC applies to a solar system 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 you own for you to claim the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all costs (panels, accessories, equipment and labor), although the amount has fluctuated slightly 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 better understand how the ITC might apply to you, speak to your local Roselle Park solar panel installer and request more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made some changes to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit re-raises the credit up to 30% for solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022 and completed by the end of 2032. At this point, the percentage will be reduced slightly each year until the end of the program in 2035. The expansion to the program 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. Your local Roselle Park solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions regarding the new Clean Energy Credit and how it may apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be provided by state and local governments. Similar to federal incentives, these may include tax credits, rebates and more. Some incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. Your local incentives may come from the New Jersey government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Roselle Park

There are a variety of solar incentives: those given by local utility companies, those given by the New Jersey government and those given by the federal government, to name a few. The use of solar energy has increased tremendously in the last 15 years, thanks to these incentives. Speak with your local solar panel installation company today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on a solar system for your Roselle Park home.