2023 Solar Incentives Guide for Great Falls, VA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives are intended to make renewable energy usage more affordable through financial incentives for those who install solar panels on their homes. Various kinds of incentives, like cash back, discounts or credit towards your monthly utility bill, may be available to you. Some incentives may be handled by the Virginia government, by your utility company or by county or municipality, while other incentives are federal. Some solar incentives you might qualify for are:

• 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, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system qualifies for SRECs or other performance-based incentives. Incentives like these are normally handled at the state level.
• Net Metering: Net metering factors in after your solar system is up and running. If you have a net metering agreement with your Great Falls utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy your solar system produces from your utility bill each month. In some locations, this credit is dollar-for-dollar, while in other areas you might be refunded a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: These could come in the form of property tax exemptions, which can let you ignore the value added by your solar panels when paying taxes on your home. You could also look for exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the federal government.
• Rebates: Rebates, or cash back after a purchase, are typically applied prior to any solar tax credits being calculated. Solar rebates may be offered by your local utility company, by your county or by your state.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC, is likely the most commonly known federal solar incentive. The ITC provides a tax credit for a set percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC is applied to the total cost of installing solar panels, including the panels themselves as well as equipment, accessories and labor. You can claim this credit for panels installed after January 1, 2006 on a primary or secondary residence located in the United States that you own. From its original value of 30% of the total cost, the credit has fluctuated slightly between 26-30%, and you may qualify for varying percentages depending on when your project was completed. There is no maximum claim amount.

To better understand how the ITC could apply to you, contact your local Great Falls solar panel installation expert and request more information.

The ITC has been renewed and expanded following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. For solar system installations that begin after January 1, 2022 and are completed by the end of 2032, homeowners can apply for a credit for 30% of the total cost. After 2033, the percentage will decrease annually until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. The expansion also makes credits for energy storage systems even easier to claim, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. The easiest way to fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you is to reach out to your local Great Falls solar panel installers with your questions.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Great Falls

There are a number of different solar incentives: those provided by local utility companies, those provided by the federal government and those provided by the Virginia government, to name a few. Solar energy utilization has increased enormously in the last 15 years, partially thanks to these incentives. Contact your local solar panel installer today to discover more about the various programs and to save the most money possible on a solar system for your Great Falls home.