The Tesla solar discount is a large group of incentives that several utility companies, the US federal government, and states offer to their customers. Now you can enjoy clean, renewable energy for your home while also receiving a tax break or cash rebate for installing and using your solar system.
The Tesla solar discounts are available to solar customers in states who offer cash rebates and tax incentives. The utility companies can also provide these discounts that offer low rates, cashback, or credits to customers for using solar energy instead of the grid.
Pro Tip: Save an additional $300+ by using a Tesla referral link from another Tesla owner.
You can get three kinds of solar power for your home or business through Tesla: solar subscription, Solar Roofs, and solar panels. All of your solar energy can be stored in the Tesla Powerwall. Using solar power, you can automatically get discounts and incentives through your state, federal taxes, and utility companies. It is important to gain a full understanding of these options. Read on to learn more about the Tesla Solar discount.
What Is the Tesla Solar Discount?
As a way to incentivize customers to use clean energy through solar panels, several utility companies, states that prioritize energy efficiency, and the federal government offer rebates or other incentives to customers after a purchase.
Solar panels offer a clean way to get energy that is a meager cost and high efficiency. The upfront cost of solar panels might be high, but there are several discounts and incentives you can take advantage of just by using solar energy.
- Federal Tax Incentives: Currently, the federal government gives a 22-30% tax credit to customers who had systems installed between 2019 to now. Depending on when your system is installed, you can take advantage of this friendly tax refund.
- State and local incentives: Many states offer solar incentives. Still, five southern states offer the top price comparisons when thinking about saving as much money as possible: Texas, California, Arizona, Nevada, and North Carolina provide excellent incentives to their residents to purchase solar panels.
- Utility incentives: Your utilities will already be cheaper when you are using solar power and your Tesla Powerwall to store your solar power energy. Depending on your state, you can get tax exemptions, low rates, cash rewards, and rebates. Some states offer these rebates in the thousands.
- Referral reward: If a customer signs up for Tesla solar energy through a referral link, they will get a $300+ credit to go towards Tesla products. You will give your referral link to your friends to use. You can track your referral progress in the Tesla app.
- Solar energy storage– Several states acknowledge that if you are using a solar panel through Tesla, you are also using a Powerwall to store your solar energy instead of using the overworked power grid. You can get a separate discount or tax incentive if your state provides this.
These discounts, when added up, equal large amounts of money that can offset the upfront costs of your solar system. With low utility rates, state incentives, federal tax rebates, referral rewards, and solar storage incentives, you could save a lot of money.
How Much is the Solar Discount?
It is hard to determine how much the solar discount will be without researching your particular state. Since there are many different discounts available, it is essential to do your research and consult a tax professional. You can also check your energy usage on your current bill per month so that you know how many kilowatt-hours you use.
In California, you can claim a Self-Generation Incentive to save some money while storing your clean energy through the Powerwall. You can get a 26% federal tax discount if you use your solar panels and Powerwall congruently.
- Depending on your state, your solar panels or Solar Roof can be very affordable and save energy over time.
- You will receive yearly tax incentives through the federal government and your state.
- You will also benefit from the low utility costs you will benefit from for each bill.
The cost of installing a solar system is dropping at an alarming rate in every state. Robocalls and mail flyers are going out daily to consumers who might be interested in switching to solar. The benefits are not just environmental but also monetary and cashback after purchase and installation.
Federal Tax Incentives
For the last three years, the United States House of Representatives has voted to include federal tax incentives for solar customers using solar panels or Solar Roofs. Although the federal tax deduction percentage has gone down over the years, it is still currently at 26 percent of the total cost of your solar system.
To take advantage of these tax incentives, consult a tax professional to see what you can do. You will have to do several things to take advantage.
- Prove when you installed the solar panels, Solar Roof, or Powerwall.
- Provide evidence that you use your panels for power and to store energy.
- Show receipts of payment for the solar panels, Solar Roof, or Powerwall.
- File your taxes on time through a licensed tax professional who can then get you these rebates on your federal tax returns.
Following these steps will ensure your federal tax incentive gets to you. By purchasing a solar energy system for your use, you can take advantage of these tax incentives. If you decide to lease the system, you are not eligible for the federal tax credit because you do not own the system outright.
How the Federal Tax Incentive Works
Once you have purchased the solar system for your home or business, you can get a federal credit of a certain percentage of your solar system installation costs.
The Federal Tax Incentive is also called the Investment Tax Credit (ITC for short). When you file your taxes, you can get 26 percent of the installation costs back from installing a solar energy system. That could be up to $9,000 for a typical homeowner.
Starting in 2005, the ITC was one of the first steps to incentivize residential and commercial energy customers to begin using renewable, clean energy. In 2016, the ITC was 30 percent of the total costs of installing a solar system.
In 2020, Congress voted to renew the ITC for two more years at the rate of 22 percent of a solar system installation cost. Hopefully, this solar incentive will continue. Make sure to ask your tax professional about how to claim your ITC.
State and Local
States recognize that clean and renewable energy is the future. Power grids are way too unstable and inefficient enough to provide the number of energy residents need to survive. States are making solar energy more cost-beneficial and owner-friendly. That is why different US states have started offering several incentives.
Every state is different, but there are many incentive options for installing a solar system. Using renewable energy has environmental perks, but now you can enjoy clean energy with some savings. Here are some of the types of cash and credit incentives that are given to solar customers:
- Tax credits: Related to the ITC, some states offer some sort of tax incentive that consumers can use to offset some of the installation costs on their taxes. This varies from state to state.
- Cash rebates: Local governments or the state might offer cash rebates for you to have just for purchasing a solar system and using it for your home.
- Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC): Some states have to use a certain amount of renewable energy every year according to specific state laws. SPECs are a way for states to purchase some of the excess power you generate from your solar panels to meet this requirement.
- Performance-based incentives: If you get a solar system installed in your house and give power back to the grid, you can qualify for a PBI. They pay owners a credit based on the amount of energy produced.
- Tax exemptions: Some states do not include (or exempt) your solar system in their tax assessments, which means that your property tax will not be affected by purchasing a solar system for your home.
Every state provides some sort of incentive for owning a solar system for your house. Some states offer more incentives based on locale. Research what state you live in provides what kind of rebates or tax perk so you can take advantage of them.
Large Incentive State Examples
Several states are advertising paying their residents. By switching to solar energy, consumers are taking pressure off the power grid and using renewable energy. This is the case in some states due to recent legislation. Some states with a lot of sunshine, especially in the summertime, offer more incentives than others.
Every state has some sort of incentive program, small or large, for owners of solar systems. If you are leasing a system, you will not take advantage of these benefits because you do not own your system.
Here are five states with different levels of incentives. The price to install systems will vary state to state, but the amount of money you get back is substantial in these states:
- Texas: There are several rebate programs in Texas where you can receive money to cut costs of installing the system.
- California: Rebate programs and loan assistance programs are available here. California has a long list of rebates, tax incentives, and more benefits to consumers. Homeowners with solar systems can also keep solar energy off their property taxes and take advantage of state tax incentives.
- Arizona: Arizona has several tax credits available for residents who own solar systems. You can even get a solar panel system in your house for under $10,000. Some states have cost.
- North Carolina: A rebate program is set up in North Carolina through the utility company to receive up to $6,000 in cash just by installing a solar panel system.
States offer tax incentives, rebates, and forgiveness programs to help with purchasing a solar system. If you are buying a Tesla solar system, you will get a lot of your money back, especially if you think of it as a long-term investment. Over time, your energy bills will go down and frequently be negligible.
Utility Incentives
Utility companies give solar system owners cashback options, low rate plans, and energy credits on their systems. Some utility companies purchase energy from solar energy users, depending on their location and the state in which they are located.
These utility incentives are not as common as tax incentives; buy-back programs are offered in Texas. Different utility companies provide cash incentives if you use solar power and store solar energy.
- California: The number one state in the US for solar power is California. California utility companies provide cash incentives for solar system owners. Through Sacramento and San Francisco programs, programs offer cash rebates of up to $2,000 to install solar panels.
- Colorado: When customers purchase Solar Rooftop panels, they may receive cash back from the utility company.
- Nevada: Very cost-effective solar systems available in Nevada make it more attractive to purchase clean energy resources. Nevada also provides some utility customers with rebates which allow for cost offsets.
Not all utility companies in all states offer these rebates. However, there are several creative ways that states have offered incentives to purchase a solar system. Do your research and look for the Return on Investment (ROI) in your state.
Tesla Referral Discount
Tesla solar panels are already the lowest price solar panels on the market, but are there any other ways to save money when ordering?
In short, the only way to get a discount on Tesla solar panels is by using an existing Tesla owners “referral link” when ordering your Tesla solar panels.
Tesla has did this same “referral program” concept with it’s vehicles and essentially it allows new customers to get a discount on their purchase by using an existing customers personal referral link.
In regards to Tesla solar discounts, using a Tesla referral link when ordering will save you $300 off solar panels or $500 off solar roof.
The referral discounts are typically only available for a limited time before Tesla stops offering the discount, so take advantage of the savings while you can.
Solar Energy Storage
Some states are more dedicated to the clean energy movement. So much so that they require utility companies to use a certain amount of clean energy. Utility companies can purchase energy from consumers to meet this quota.
These are usually called SRECs or Solar Renewable Energy Credits. For every excess kilowatt-hour, your solar panel produces, utility companies in certain states will “buy” to supply the energy needed for reuse. Here are some states that participate in programs like this.
- In Colorado, Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SREC) are available to homeowners. The utility companies will set up payments to solar energy users per kilowatt-hour. You can be paid based on the Solar Rewards program. The utility companies will pay you to use your energy from your solar panels.
- If you live in Massachusetts, you can start getting paid for every kilowatt-hour our system produces. You will receive payment from your utility company for providing solar energy in your state. Keep your energy stored in your Powerwall so that you can give power to your house and the state.
- In Delaware, they have established their own utility investment company to pay consumers up to $3,000 if they purchase and own a solar system.
- In Pennsylvania, utility companies have to use 18% clean, renewable energy for their total energy consumption per year. Solar Alternative Energy Credits come in, where homeowners can sell these to utility companies. It is also about clean energy stored for long periods.
States will offer significant incentives to solar energy owners who wish to sell their renewable energy. The Tesla Powerwall comes in handy because it can store energy within its lithium battery and transfer some of its power back to the grid.
How Would a Solar Discount Benefit Me?
Solar discounts are very beneficial if you have solar panels installed for your home or business. Your solar system can essentially pay for itself after a while with the different cash rebates, benefit tax incentives, and benefits available for solar energy users.
If you are leasing the system, you will be unable to take advantage of the benefits from the Tesla discounts because Tesla would still technically own the equipment.
- The solar discounts would benefit you by helping you save some money.
- You can offset the installation costs by using your rebates from your utility company.
- You can also get tax benefits.
Every state has some sort of incentive or discount for using clean and renewable energy.
Conclusion
The Tesla solar discounts can be given to you in different forms; Discounts can be federal tax rebates, property tax exemptions, or cash rebates from your utility company. Tesla also has an excellent referral program that can also provide you with some perks.
Tesla and other solar options make solar power possible for every household by providing several buying options. All of the states in the US offer solar incentives to owners.
While some states provide more incentives than others, there are many benefits to having a solar power system because of the energy savings over time. Make sure you do your research before filing your taxes with your solar purchase.