Ohio solar rebates and tax credits calculator

Solar incentive

Federal ITC 30% (tax credit)

State tax credit: No

Net metering (by utility)

Calculate for your home's location

There can be solar tax credits and incentives available at the federal, state and local levels. The calculator above will show you the value of all incentives your home is eligible for.

Summary of Ohio solar incentives 2024

Although the Ohio Public Utilities Commission recently reduced the amount of credit you get when you send unused solar power back to your utility, solar power still makes a lot of sense here for homeowners. 

In the future, we'd like to see more support from Mike DeWine for homeowners who want to go solar, and on a strengthened renewable portfolio standard. Ohioans deserve to be part of a profitable renewable energy future for us all.

On this page, you can:

  1. Learn what solar incentives are available to Ohio homeowners

  2. See what Ohio solar incentives you qualify for based on your utility company and city

  3. Find out how much these incentives and/or Ohio solar tax credits will reduce your cost to go solar and add batteries

Federal solar investment tax credit

The federal solar investment tax credit will have the biggest impact on the cost you will face to go solar in Ohio

If you install your photovoltaic system before the end of 2032, the federal tax credit is 30% of the cost of your solar panel system. This is 30% off the entire cost of the system including equipment, labor, and permitting.

Example: If your solar energy system costs $20,000, your federal solar tax credit would be $20,000 x 30% = $6,000.

The federal tax credit falls to 26% starting in 2033.

Net energy metering in Ohio

With net metering in some states, you get full retail rate credit for the amount of electricity you send back into the grid with your solar panels.

Net Metering requires your utility to monitor how much energy your solar power system produces and how much energy you actually consume, and make sure you get credit for the surplus.

Ohio used to have one of the strongest net metering policies in the country. However, now any net excess generation your system produces on a monthly basis will be credited to your bill, but only at the per-kWh generation charge, which averages between 4 and 5 cents per kWh across the state. While that’s still a credit, it’s less than half of current retail electricity rates of $0.12/kwh. 

Therefore, it’s important to size your solar energy system well, so you aren’t feeding in a whole bunch of credits back to your utility when you aren’t able to use the power onise. 

Ohio separates itself from the pack as one of the handful of states that allows you to request a check for any credits accumulated over the course of a 12-month billing cycle. That’s right – if you run a surplus for the year, the utility company will actually pay you.

Ohio solar rebates

While Ohio does not have a dedicated state rebate for solar panel installation, some manufacturers like LG offer their own solar rebates. These programs are usually time sensitive. For example, LG offers a $600 solar rebate on their equipment, which your installer can help you redeem over the next year.

Tax exemptions

Here’s some great news: the value of your home goes up when you install solar panels. Here’s some okay news: The cities of Cleveland and Cincinnati will let you keep that extra home value off the property tax rolls for many years to come. Here's some not-so-good news: the rest of the state has property tax relief only for commercial solar installations.

Ohio does have a sales tax exemption for solar energy though! That means you’ll save 5.75% on the purchase of your new system. On an investment of tens of thousands of dollars, that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Cost of solar panels in your part of Ohio after all applicable solar incentives

Showing data for:

Prices based on a 10.8kW system, after 30% federal tax credit

Solar prices near you

Cost range of local prices

$15,956-$19,502

Payback period

10.1-12.4 years

Net profit (savings less system cost)

$29,850-$36,484

Average size system installed in OH in 2024

10.8kW

Solar panel cost calculator

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