2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Victoria, TX - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The term "solar incentives" refers to financial incentives implemented by the government and by solar companies to encourage the adoption and use renewable energy by making the installation and use of solar panels more affordable. Incentives can include things like discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are offered federally, while others are provided by the state of Texas or your specific utility company, county or municipality. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:

• Net Metering: Make sure you speak with your Victoria utility company about signing a net metering contract. This allows you to receive credit towards your monthly utility bill for the value of excess energy generated by your solar panels. You could receive either a dollar-for-dollar credit or a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Your solar panel system might qualify for exemptions on both sales and property tax. 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 you are calculating property taxes on your house.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar panels. These could be offered by your local utility company, your county or your state. The cash back that you get from the rebates is normally applied before tax credits are calculated.
• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, the total amount of tax you owe the government. These are different from tax deductions.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. It's likely that you've heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. This incentive is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a certain percentage of the money you spend on your solar system.

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

To better understand how the ITC might apply to you, speak to your local Victoria solar panel installer and ask for more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, expanded and extended the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit bolsters the current credit, increasing it up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. After this, the percentage will be reduced slightly each year until the program expires in 2035. Beginning in 2023, it will also be easier to qualify for credits for energy storage systems with the new act.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The best way to understand how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you is to speak with your local Victoria solar panel installation expert directly.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives may be provided at the state and local level. As with federal incentives, these could include tax credits, rebates and more. These incentives might be handled by your county or municipality, or by the Texas government. Some are available for a limited time, while others are ongoing.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Victoria

There are a number of different solar incentives: those offered by the federal government, those offered by the Texas government and those offered by local utility companies, to name a few. Solar energy use has increased tremendously in the last 15 years, partially thanks to these incentives. If you're ready to switch over to solar energy, reaching out to your local Victoria solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.