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

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to encourage homeowners to make the switch to renewable energy by providing incentives that lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Different types of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the state of New Jersey, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while others are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Net Metering: Make sure you speak with your Succasunna utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to receive credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You might receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the time of purchase for your solar system. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the added value of your solar system when calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions (not deductions) in how much income tax you owe the federal government.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and similar other performance-based incentives may be available to you if you have a solar system that produces more than a specified (generally small) amount of electricity. Performance-based incentives are generally handled at the state level. You can sell the SRECs you receive to your utility company or other buyers, and the money you make is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be offered by your local utility company, or by your state or county. These rebates work as partial refunds that are applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.

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 may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to a percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar panels have to have been installed on a property you own after January 1, 2006 for you to claim the credit. The ITC initially covered 30% of all costs (panels, accessories, equipment and labor), although the total amount has fluctuated over the last few years between 26-30%. The amount you qualify for will depend on when your solar system was installed. There is no cap on the claim amount.

To better understand how the ITC will apply to your situation, contact your local Succasunna solar panel installer and request more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, added more provisions to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). With the new provisions, solar installation projects started after January 1, 2022 and completed by the end of 2032 may be eligible for a 30% tax credit. This credit amount will then decrease slightly each year until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. Beginning in 2023, it will also be easier to get credits for energy storage systems under the new laws.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. Your local Succasunna solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions about the new Clean Energy Credit and how it applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Rebates, tax credits and more can be claimed at multiple levels. On top of federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones as well. These incentives might be distributed by the New Jersey government, or by your county or municipality. Some are available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Succasunna

There are many types of solar incentives: those offered by local utility companies, those offered by the federal government and those offered by the New Jersey government, to name a few. Solar energy utilization has grown tremendously in the last 15 years, partially due to these incentives. When you're ready to make the change to solar energy, getting in touch with your local Succasunna solar panel installation expert is a great first step.