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

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" covers a wide range of financial incentives put in place to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. The incentives could include upfront discounts, cash back or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the state of Ohio and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Types of solar incentives might include:

• Net Metering: Be sure to talk to your Sidney utility company about signing a net metering contract. This will allow you to get a credit towards your utility bill every month 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 Credits: Tax credits reduce, dollar-for-dollar, the amount of income tax you owe the government. Tax credits differ from tax deductions.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are usually given prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. Solar rebates may be offered by your local utility company, by your state or by your county.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to ignore the value added by your solar system when calculating property tax for your home.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are typically handled by your state government. Once your solar panel system meets a certain threshold (generally a small amount of energy production), you can receive SRECs that you can then sell to your utility company or other buyers. The money you receive is generally considered part of your taxable income.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you hear the term "solar incentives," federal incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind. You've likely heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This is a tax credit equal to a specified percentage of the money you spend installing solar panels.

The ITC applies to 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 claim the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all system costs (panels, labor, accessories and equipment), although the 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 understand exactly how much the ITC could save you, get in touch with your local Sidney solar panel installation expert.

In August 2022, the ITC (now called the Clean Energy Credit) was bolstered by the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. The Clean Energy Credit re-raises the credit up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. After 2032, the percentage will be reduced slightly each year until the end of the program in 2035. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. To better understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, get in touch with your local Sidney solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Rebates, tax credits and more can be claimed at multiple levels. Along with federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones, too. Certain incentives are offered for only a limited time, while others are ongoing. These local incentives could come from the Ohio government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Sidney

Solar incentives can be offered by your local utility company, the federal government or the Ohio government. The variety of solar incentives available has facilitated the nationwide growth of solar energy use in the last 15 years. Reach out to your local solar panel installation company today to find out more information and to save as much money as possible on a solar system for your Sidney home.