Georgia solar rebates and incentives: 2025 guide

Georgia’s sunny skies, mild winters, and high natural gas prices make it a natural fit for an all-electric home. While Georgia doesn’t offer many state-level solar incentives for homeowners, federal tax credits can still take a big bite out of the upfront costs. However, the federal solar tax credit will no longer be available for systems installed after December 31, 2025, so you have to go solar this year to claim it.

The best solar incentive in Georgia is actually a federal tax credit. 

Residential Clean Energy Credit

The Residential Clean Energy Credit, formerly known as the federal investment tax credit (ITC), can reduce your solar panel system's cost by 30%. Your entire system, including all the equipment, labor, permitting, and sales tax, qualifies for the ITC. 

However, this credit will no longer be available after December 31, 2025. On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed legislation that eliminates the residential solar tax credit entirely starting January 1, 2026—nearly a decade ahead of its original expiration date. Solar projects typically take several months from consultation to installation, so homeowners considering solar should act quickly to lock in these savings.

When you file your taxes, you can claim this incentive as a credit towards your federal tax bill. Just keep in mind that to qualify for the ITC, you need to purchase your system either with cash or a solar loan–if you lease your system, you won't be eligible. 

You also need a high enough tax bill to use the credit, though you can roll over any remaining credit year-to-year, according to a tax expert EnergySage spoke with. The IRS doesn't specify an end date for credit rollovers, meaning you can theoretically roll over unused credits indefinitely based on current law. However, Tax Form 5695 may no longer exist after 2025, so you likely will no longer be able to use that form. Please speak with a tax professional for specific guidance.

Remember: Your system must be installed by December 31, 2025 to qualify for this credit.

Georgia no longer mandates full net metering for new solar customers, but some utility companies (including Georgia Power) offer a reduced benefit known as net billing. 

Under net billing, you’ll earn some cash credit toward your energy bill when you send excess electricity from your solar panels to the grid. For Georgia Power customers, it’s expected to be about 3.7 cents per kWh. Some smaller utilities offer similar rates.

The credits are calculated instantaneously, rather than at the end of a monthly billing cycle like a more consumer-friendly net-metering program would be. So the most value you can get from your solar power is to either use it at home instantaneously, or store it in a solar battery, before it gets sent to the grid.

Georgia doesn't offer any state-specific battery incentives. However, all batteries larger than 3 kWh are eligible for the same 30% federal tax credit as solar panels. 

Batteries can make good financial sense as part of a home solar system in Georgia. The state’s net billing policy incentivizes solar owners to hoard as much of their own solar power as possible, rather than sending it to the grid. 

And since Georgia Power and other utilities have time-of-use electricity pricing—that is, really expensive electricity during peak demand times in the late afternoon and early evening—you can squeeze even more value out of your solar power by storing it in a battery during the daytime, then relying on that battery to power your home during peak pricing hours.