2024 Solar Incentives Guide for Laplace, LA - Tax Credits & Rebates
In this guide, we'll cover the latest solar incentives and rebates available in Laplace.
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 Laplace?
Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
New Orleans City - Energy Smart Program
Federal Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit
Source: https://www.dsireusa.org/
Solar incentives encourage homeowners to switch their home over to renewable energy by offering incentives meant to lower the financial burden of solar panel installation and use. Incentives might include things like discounts, cash back or credit towards your monthly utility bill. Some incentives are handled federally, while others are handled by the Louisiana government or by your specific utility company, county or municipality. You might qualify for any of the following types of solar incentives:
- Net Metering: Don't forget to talk with your Laplace utility company about signing a net metering agreement. This will allow you to receive credit towards your utility bill every month 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.
- Tax Credits: Tax credits are dollar-for-dollar reductions that lower the amount of income tax you owe the federal government. (A tax credit is different from a tax deduction.)
- Tax Exemptions: Sales tax exemptions are applied at the point of sale for your solar system. Property tax exemptions allow you to ignore the added value of your solar system when you're calculating the amount of property tax you need to pay on your house.
- Rebates: Solar rebates may be offered by your local utility company, or by your state or county. These rebates are essentially cash back that is applied after you purchase solar panels and before tax credits are calculated.
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Federal Solar Incentives
Federal incentives are the kind of incentives that you are most likely to have heard of. You might have heard of the Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit, or ITC. The ITC is a tax credit that reduces your taxes by a certain percentage of the money you spend on solar panels for your home.
The ITC can be credited towards the value of 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 owned by you for you to be eligible for the credit. Initially, the ITC applied to 30% of all costs (panels, labor, accessories and equipment), although the amount has fluctuated slightly over the 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.
Talking to your local Laplace solar panel installer is the best way to understand how the ITC applies to you.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed in August 2022, made some changes to the ITC (as well as renaming it to the Clean Energy Credit). Now, solar installation projects begun after January 1, 2022, and finished by December 31, 2032, might qualify for a 30% tax credit. This credit amount will then see a slight annual decrease until the end of the current Clean Energy Credit in 2035. The expansion also makes it easier to get credit for energy storage systems, beginning in 2023.
More information about the new Inflation Reduction Act can be found here. Your local Laplace solar panel installer can answer any questions you have and explain how the new Clean Energy Credit will apply to you.
State & Local Solar Incentives
Some solar incentives are often also offered at the local or state level. Similar to federal incentives, these can include tax credits, rebates and more. These solar incentives — which might be handled by your county or municipality, or by the state of Louisiana — may be offered on an ongoing basis, or for only a limited time.
Next Steps for Installing Solar in Laplace
You can receive solar incentives from the Louisiana government and the federal government, as well as from your local utility company. The growing availability of solar initiatives in the past 15 years has helped greatly increase nationwide adoption of solar energy. When you're ready to make the change to solar energy, talking to your local Laplace solar panel installation expert is an excellent place to start.
EcoWatch's Laplace, LA Solar Incentives FAQs
How can I find out if I qualify for different solar incentives?
It's best to speak with your local Laplace solar installer to get an understanding of which incentives your project will qualify for. Usually, solar incentives apply to new solar panel systems installed on property you own (in the U.S.) within a specified date range. Some incentives, such as those provided by the Louisiana government, might have other requirements.
What are some of the environmental benefits of switching to solar energy?
You can lower your carbon footprint by 400 pounds of CO2 annually when you switch to solar panels. This adds up to approximately 8,000 pounds in 20 years. Solar is also a renewable energy source, meaning that switching your home over lessens the drain on our planet's resources.
Can I claim incentives both towards the initial cost of solar panels, and later as reimbursement?
The order in which incentives are applied might vary depending on which incentives you are eligible for but in most cases yes, you can receive multiple types of incentives for your solar project. Check with your solar installer or a local tax professional to confirm you are claiming all the incentives you qualify for and applying them in the correct order.
Can I use both 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. Be sure to go over your ideas with your local Laplace solar installation expert. They can help you with the plan for your project and give you an understanding of various incentives that you will or won't qualify for.
Can I claim incentives for adding solar panels to a vacation home, rental property or commercial property?
Many solar incentives are intended to apply to a property located within the United States that you own; most secondary residences will fall under this distinction. There may be other solar incentives available for commercial properties, depending on the specifics. We recommend speaking with your local solar installer and/or tax professional to fully understand what incentives will apply to your specific situation.
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.