2025 Solar Incentives Guide for New Baltimore, VA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

Solar incentives encourage homeowners to make the switch to renewable energy by providing financial incentives that lower the burden of solar panel installation and use. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or monthly utility bill credits. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, while others are handled by the state of Virginia or by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Unlike tax deductions, tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions in the amount of income tax that you owe the government.
• Tax Exemptions: These can come in the form of property tax exemptions, which let you exclude the value added by your solar panels when calculating the taxes you pay on your house. They may also include exemptions on sales tax at the time of purchase.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): In most cases, solar systems that produce more than a predetermined (usually small) amount of electricity will qualify for SRECs or other similar performance-based incentives. SRECs and performance-based incentives in general are typically given at the state level. You can sell SRECs to your utility company or another buyer, and generally the money you make is normally considered part of your taxable income.
• Net Metering: You may be able to sign a net metering contract with your New Baltimore utility company. This agreement may apply to all or a percentage of the excess electricity your solar panels generate. They will then deduct this value from your utility bill each month.
• Rebates: A rebate is a partial refund credited to your account after you've paid for your solar system. Rebates may be offered by your local utility company, your state or your county. The rebates are usually applied before calculating tax credits.

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're most likely to have heard of 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 applies towards solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and lets you deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, accessories, equipment and labor. You can claim this credit for solar panels installed on a primary or secondary residence that you own in the United States. The original claim amount was 30% of the total cost, although certain projects may qualify for only 26%, depending on the details. There is no maximum claim amount.

Your local New Baltimore solar panel installation expert can give you more information about the ITC and how it might apply to your situation.

The ITC was renewed and increased in scope after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. It's also now called the Clean Energy Credit. Homeowners can now receive a credit of 30% of the total solar system installation costs for projects started after January 1, 2022, and completed before the end of 2032. The percentage will then begin to decrease on a yearly basis until the Clean Energy Credit expires in 2035. Starting in 2023, the program expansion will also make it easier to get credit for energy storage systems.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. To fully understand how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you, speak with your local New Baltimore solar installation company.

State & Local Solar Incentives

Some solar incentives are often also provided at the state and local level. Similar to federal incentives, these can include tax credits, rebates and more. Certain incentives are ongoing, while others are available for a limited time. Incentives may be offered by your county or municipality, or by the Virginia government.

Next Steps for Installing Solar in New Baltimore

Solar energy use nationwide has increased enormously in the past 15 years, in part thanks to the proliferation of solar incentives. You can obtain these incentives from your local utility company, the Virginia government or the federal government. If you're ready to switch over to solar energy, talking to your local New Baltimore solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.