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

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

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

Solar incentives are designed to make renewable energy usage more affordable via financial incentives to help people install solar panels on their homes. Various kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be offered by the Ohio government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant after your solar panels are up and running. If you have in place a net metering agreement with your Upper Arlington utility company, it will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in other places you might get refunded a percentage of the value.
• Rebates: Solar rebates can be provided by your county or state, or by your local utility company. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after you pay for a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): Generally, solar systems that produce more than a specified (generally small) amount of electricity will qualify for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. SRECs and the like are typically offered by your state government. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or another buyer, and this is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Tax Exemptions: These might come in the form of property tax exemptions, which would allow you to exclude the value of your solar system when paying taxes on your house. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal solar incentives are likely the first thing that comes to mind 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 certain percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies to the total cost of solar system installation, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, labor and accessories. This credit can be claimed for panels installed after January 1, 2006, on a primary or secondary residence that you own, as long as it is located in the United States. Originally set at 30% of total costs, the credit has fluctuated over time, and you may qualify for different amounts depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

To more fully understand how the ITC may apply to your situation, contact your local Upper Arlington solar panel installation expert and ask for more information.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called 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. This amount will be decreased slightly on a yearly basis until the end of the current program. The program expansion also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to learn more about how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you is to talk with your local Upper Arlington solar panel installers.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also offered at the local or state level. As with federal incentives, these might include tax credits, rebates and more. The incentives — which may be handled by your county or municipality, or by the state of Ohio — could be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Upper Arlington

The expanding number of available solar incentives has enormously increased the nationwide adoption of solar energy over the past 15 years. You might qualify for solar incentives from your local utility company, the Ohio government or the federal government. We recommend talking to your local Upper Arlington solar installer for more information about these incentives and to make sure that you're getting all the money you can for your solar panels.