2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Marietta, OH - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. The incentives may include upfront discounts, cash back or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the Ohio government and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund after the purchase of your solar system. These might be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The discount that rebates offer is normally applied to the price of solar panels before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are typically handled at the state level. Once your solar system meets the qualification threshold (generally a small amount of energy production), you are eligible to receive SRECs that can be sold to your utility company or other buyers. The money you make from the sale is generally considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panels may qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions are applied at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the added value of the solar panels when calculating property taxes on your house.
• 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 Marietta utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your utility bill each month. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other areas you may make back a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits differ from tax deductions.

Federal Solar Incentives

When people think of solar incentives, federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is the most well-known federal solar incentive. The ITC provides you with a tax credit for a set percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies to the total cost of installing a solar system, including the panels themselves as well as labor, accessories and equipment. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own and that is located in the United States. The tax credit ranges from 26-30% of total costs depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum amount you can claim.

To understand exactly how much the ITC could save you, contact your local Marietta solar panel installer.

In August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act made revisions to the ITC, now dubbed the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now qualify for a credit equal to 30% of the total solar system installation costs for projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed before the end of 2032. The percentage will then begin to decrease annually until the Clean Energy Credit ends in 2035. Beginning in 2023, it will also be easier to claim credits for energy storage systems under this new program.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you, reach out to your local Marietta solar installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

There are often state solar incentives available in addition to federal ones. Rebates, tax credits and more may be available at a more local level. Some incentives are ongoing, while others might only be available for a limited time. Incentives may be provided by the Ohio government, or by your county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Marietta

You can receive solar incentives from the Ohio government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The growing availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped increase nationwide solar energy use enormously. If you're ready to switch over to solar energy, talking to your local Marietta solar panel installation expert is a great first step.