2025 Solar Incentives Guide for East Highland Park, VA - Tax Credits & Rebates
In this guide, we'll cover the latest solar incentives and rebates available in East Highland Park.
You'll learn about:
- Local & State Solar Incentives
- Federal Tax Credits (Updated for 2024 and beyond)
- Ways to optimize your solar investment
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What Solar Tax Credits, Incentives, and Rebates are Available in East Highland Park?
Income Tax Deduction for Energy-Efficient Products
Local Option- Renewable Energy Machinery and Tools Property Tax Exemption
Local Option - Residential Property Tax Exemption for Solar
Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/
Solar incentives are designed to mitigate the cost of installing solar panels on your home. Financial incentives like these are designed to encourage more homeowners to switch their home over to renewable energy. Various types of incentives, including cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, might be available to you. Certain incentives may be provided via the Virginia government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:
- Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the government. (This is different from a tax deduction.)
- Net Metering: Make sure you speak to your East Highland Park utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This will allow you to get a credit towards your monthly utility bill 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.
- Rebates: Rebates, or partial refunds after a purchase, are typically given prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. Solar rebates can be provided by your local utility company, by your county or by your state.
- Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs and other performance-based incentives are usually handled by your state government. Once your solar panel system meets the threshold (usually a small amount of energy production), you can receive SRECs that can be sold to your utility company or other buyers. The money you make is usually considered part of your taxable income.
- Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions go into effect at the point of sale for your solar panels. Property tax exemptions allow you to exclude the value that your solar panels add when you're calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay on your home.
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Federal Solar Incentives
Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have some familiarity with. The solar incentive that you may be most familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which provides a credit on your taxes equal to a specified percentage of your solar system's cost.
The ITC can be applied to solar panels installed on your primary or secondary residence in the United States. The solar system must have been installed after January 1, 2006, on a property you own for you to claim the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all costs (panels, accessories, equipment and labor), although the amount has fluctuated slightly 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 amount you can claim.
Curious how the ITC might apply to your specific situation? Reach out to your local East Highland Park solar panel installer 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). The new Clean Energy Credit is valid until 2035. American homeowners can now receive a 30% credit for solar systems that began installation on or after January 1, 2022, and will be done by December 31, 2032. The total credit will then see a slight annual decrease until its expiration. Starting in 2023, it will also be easier to obtain credits for energy storage systems with the new act.
More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The easiest way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit might apply to you is to speak with your local East Highland Park solar panel installers directly.
State & Local Solar Incentives
In addition to federal solar incentives, there are often also state ones. Tax credits, rebates and more might be available at a more local level. Incentives may be provided by the state of Virginia, or by your county or municipality. Certain incentives are available for only a limited time, while others are ongoing.
Next Steps for Installing Solar in East Highland Park
Nationwide solar energy use has increased enormously in the past 15 years, in part thanks to the proliferation of solar incentives. You may get these incentives from the Virginia government, the federal government or your local utility company. Speaking with your local East Highland Park solar panel installation company is the best first step towards making sure you get all the incentives you qualify for when you switch to solar energy.
EcoWatch's East Highland Park, VA Solar Incentives FAQs
How much can I save annually on my electric bill if I install solar panels on my house in East Highland Park?
Typically, East Highland Park homeowners who install solar panels save about $491.74 per year, or about $9,834.83 over 20 years after they make the switch.
What are the highest-rated solar panel installation companies near me?
To find the right solar panel installer for you, check out our guide to the best solar companies in East Highland Park.
What are the environmental benefits of switching to solar?
You can decrease your carbon footprint by 100 pounds of CO2 a year when you switch to solar panels. This adds up to roughly 2,000 pounds over 20 years. Solar is also a renewable energy source, which means that making the switch reduces the drain on our planet's resources.
If I change out my appliances for ones that utilize solar energy, are there incentives I can claim?
The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act provides multiple incentives that reward homeowners for making eco-friendly upgrades. Some incentives include rebates and tax credits for installing new electric appliances. You can find more details about these incentives here.
Can I use a combination of solar and another type of renewable energy to power my home?
You can use multiple types of renewable energy, or a combination of renewable and non-renewable energy, to power your home. Make sure you talk through your ideas with your local East Highland Park solar installer. They can help you plan your project and educate you on the various incentives that you may or may not qualify for.
Our goal is to reach as many people as we can with sensible solutions like solar energy. Our team of full-time local researchers collects solar price and installation data for every city in America then compiles it to create these digestible city guides. If you want to read our solar expert's opinion on the top solar companies featured here, follow this link.
Solar incentive research was conducted by Melissa Smith and Karsten Neumeister. Local data analysis was conducted by James Savino. See something we missed or could do better? Email the editor.