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The Charlotte County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has made good on their promise to use revenue from solar projects to help reduce the tax burden on citizens of the county.

Beginning with the December tax bill, citizens will see a solar tax credit applied to their statements.

This tax credit will appear on bills in December and June of 2023.

“Staff estimated that 1 penny in real estate tax generates about $100K,” said County Administrator Dan Witt. “So, each person will receive a credit of 5 cents per $100 of assessed value. Therefore, it is estimated that $500,000 will be refunded to the taxpayers.”

Witt further gave the following example.

If a person’s real estate is appraised at $100k, their normal taxes would be $100,000 x .62 / 100 = $620. This would be paid in two equal installments of $310, due on December 5th and June 5th. With the new solar credit, it would be calculated like this. It’s $100,000 x .57/ 100 = $570 with two installments of $285 with a solar credit of $25 each billing cycle.

Dominion offers Charlotte County tax relief

The tax relief comes in a form of a $500,000 payment the county received from Dominion Energy. This comes in regard to the Randolph Solar project.

“This credit will be given for this fiscal tax year only, and it just applies to real estate taxes,” said County Treasurer Patricia Berkeley. “Since the statements are divided into installments, the credit has been divided.”

For each qualified property, the treasurer will one-time credit the taxpayer’s real estate billing installment statements (due December 5, 2022, and June 5, 2023) five cents per one hundred dollars (5¢ / $100) of the assessed value of the property.

According to county documents, only one credit will be made for each qualified property. That’s regardless of the number of persons or entities who are listed as a taxpayer(s) for the property.

The BOS unanimously made the decision to return money to citizens during a meeting on Oct. 13.

Board members noted that this one-time credit is being done until the county begins to receive recurring payments from solar projects.

“We can’t do this permanently until we have recurring revenue from solar, so this is a great option,” said Supervisor Walt Bailey.

Chairman Gary Walker added, “I hope other monies come in so we can increase this (credit) in the future.”

 

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