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

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

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

Solar incentives are meant to help mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. These financial incentives are in place to encourage more Americans to switch their home over to renewable energy. You might be eligible for different kinds of incentives, such as discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill, depending on your situation. Certain incentives come from your specific utility company, county or municipality, some from the Ohio government and others from the federal government. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other similar performance-based incentives are generally handled at the state level. Once your solar system meets the qualification 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 make is usually considered part of your taxable income.
• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your local utility company, or by your state or county. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after your purchase of solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Different from tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Net Metering: You can sign a net metering contract with your Worthington utility company that will apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity your solar panels generate. Your utility company will then subtract this value from your monthly utility bill.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panel system could qualify for both sales tax and property tax exemptions. Sales tax exemptions come into effect at the time of purchase. Property tax exemptions let you ignore the added value of the solar panels when you are calculating property taxes on your house.

Federal Solar Incentives

When you think about solar incentives, you probably think of federal incentives first. A federal incentive many people are likely familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This incentive is a tax credit for a certain percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies towards solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and allows you to deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, equipment and accessories. You can claim this credit for a solar panel system installed on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Originally, you could claim 30% of the total cost, although depending on when the project was completed, your credit may range from 26-30%. There is no maximum claim amount.

Talking to your local Worthington solar panel installation expert is the best way to learn more about how the ITC may apply to your situation.

The ITC was both renewed and expanded by the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. The Clean Energy Credit lasts 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. Starting in 2023, the expansion will also make it easier to get credit for energy storage systems.

Click here to learn more about the new Inflation Reduction Act. The easiest way to understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to reach out to your local Worthington solar panel installers with your questions.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Worthington

The expanding number of solar incentives available has enormously increased the nationwide adoption of solar energy over the past 15 years. You may receive solar incentives from the federal government, the Ohio government or from your local utility company. Call your local solar panel installation expert today to learn more and to save the most money possible on solar panels for your Worthington home.