2025 Solar Incentives Guide for Stone Ridge, VA - Tax Credits & Rebates

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

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

The phrase "solar incentives" includes a wide range of financial incentives implemented to make installing and using solar panels more affordable. This is done to encourage people to switch to renewable energy. The incentives may include cash back, upfront discounts or monthly credits towards your utility bill. Some incentives are offered by the federal government, some by the state of Virginia and some by your specific utility company, county or municipality. Some broad categories of solar incentives include:

• Tax Credits: Tax credits decrease, dollar-for-dollar, how much income tax you owe the federal government. Tax credits differ from tax deductions.
• Net Metering: Net metering becomes relevant after your solar panels are up and running. If you have in place a net metering agreement with your Stone Ridge utility company, the company will subtract the value of the excess energy produced by your solar system from your utility bill each month. In some places, this is a dollar-for-dollar credit, while in others you may make back a percentage of the value.
• Tax Exemptions: Tax exemptions can come in one of two forms. The first is sales tax exemption, applied when you purchase solar panels. The second is property tax exemption. This allows you to exclude the added value of your solar system when calculating property tax for your house.
• Solar Renewable Energy Certificate (SREC): SRECs are credits that can be sold to your utility company (or other buyers) for cash that typically becomes part of your taxable income. In most cases, a certain (small) threshold of energy production must be met before your solar system qualifies for SRECs or similar performance-based incentives. These kinds of incentives are typically handled by your state government.
• Rebates: Solar rebates may be provided by your local utility company, or by your county or state. These rebates work as cash back that is applied after your purchase of a solar system and before tax credits are calculated.

Federal Solar Incentives

When thinking about solar incentives, you likely think of federal incentives first. One of the incentives many people are probably familiar with is the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC is a tax credit for a given percentage of your solar system's cost.

The ITC applies towards solar systems installed after January 1, 2006, and allows you to deduct from your taxes a percentage of the total cost of solar panels, labor, accessories and equipment. This credit can apply towards solar panels installed on a primary or secondary residence in the United States that you own. Originally, you could claim 30% of the total cost, although certain projects may qualify for only 26%, depending on the details. There is no maximum claim amount.

Have questions about how the ITC applies to your specific situation? Contact your local Stone Ridge solar panel installation expert to get more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made some changes to the ITC (as well as retitling it the Clean Energy Credit). The Clean Energy Credit has increased the current credit up to 30% for solar systems installed between 2022 and 2032. After this, the percentage will decrease slightly each year until the program expires in 2035. The expansion to the program also makes claiming credit for energy storage systems easier than ever before, starting in 2023.

More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Stone Ridge solar panel installer can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit applies to you.

State & Local Solar Incentives

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

Next Steps for Installing Solar in Stone Ridge

You can receive solar incentives from the Virginia government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The increased availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped increase solar adoption nationwide. If you're prepared to switch over to solar energy, getting in touch with your local Stone Ridge solar panel installation expert is a great first step.