2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Mccandless, PA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to encourage homeowners to switch their home over to renewable energy by offering incentives that lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Different kinds of incentives, such as cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Some incentives may be provided via the Pennsylvania government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Rebates: Rebates, or partial refunds after a purchase, are normally given prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. Solar rebates might be given by your local utility company, by your state or by your county.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for money that typically becomes part of your taxable income. Generally, there is a small threshold of energy production to meet before your solar system is eligible for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. SRECs and similar incentives are typically handled at the state level.
• Net Metering: Make sure you speak to your Mccandless utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This will allow you to get a credit towards your utility bill every month for the value of excess energy your solar panels generate. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in one of two forms. First, there is sales tax exemption, which is applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption, which allows you to exclude the value added by your solar system when calculating property tax for your house.

Federal Solar Incentives

Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have heard of. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is probably the most commonly known federal solar incentive. The ITC offers a tax credit for a specific percentage of the cost of your solar system.

The ITC applies to solar systems installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. The credit initially covered 30% of the total cost — for panels, accessories, equipment and labor — although that amount may range from 26-30%, depending on when your solar project was undertaken. There is no cap on the amount you can claim.

Have questions about how the ITC applies to your specific situation? Reach out to your local Mccandless solar panel installation expert to get more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, added more provisions to the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). Homeowners can now receive a credit of 30% of the total costs of solar system installation for projects that began after January 1, 2022 and will be finished by the end of 2032. The percentage will then decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. 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. Your local Mccandless solar panel installers are the best people to answer your questions about the new Clean Energy Credit and how it will apply to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Rebates, tax credits and more can be provided at multiple levels. In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often state and local ones, too. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are offered for only a limited time. Your local solar incentives might come from the Pennsylvania government, or from your specific county or municipality.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Mccandless

Nationwide solar energy use has gone up tremendously in the past 15 years, in part thanks to the growth in the number of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from your local utility company, the Pennsylvania government or the federal government. If you're prepared to make the change to solar energy, talking to your local Mccandless solar panel installation expert is a great first step.