Short answer: No, not for most homeowners. The 30% federal tax credit for homeowners who buy their own solar system ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025. If your system is installed in 2026 or later, you can’t claim it. Solar can still make financial sense, but the math is different now.
What Happened to the 30% Solar Tax Credit?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, ended the residential clean energy credit (Section 25D). That was the credit homeowners used to claim 30% of their solar system cost on their federal taxes.
The cutoff depends on when your system is completed:
- Systems completed on or before December 31, 2025 still qualify for the 30% credit. If you can’t use all of it in one year, the unused amount carries forward.
- Systems completed in 2026 or later don’t qualify, even if you signed the contract or paid a deposit in 2025.
What About Leased and PPA Solar Systems?
If you lease your system or buy its power through a power purchase agreement (PPA), the company that owns the system, not you, may be able to claim a commercial credit under Section 48E. That credit has its own deadlines for when construction started or when the system goes into service.
Whether any of that benefit reaches you depends on the contract. If a provider offers you a lease or PPA, ask them directly how the credit affects your rate and what happens if the rules change.
Do Home Batteries Qualify?
For homeowners, the battery credit ended on the same date. A battery you buy for your home in 2026 doesn’t receive the 25D credit. Batteries owned by a company under a lease or PPA fall under the commercial rules above.
What Does This Mean for Your Solar Decision?
The credit was a large part of the savings, so the payback period is longer than it used to be. Whether solar still makes sense for you comes down to a few things:
- Your electric bills and how much they’ve risen
- Your roof’s age, condition, and sun exposure
- The cost of the system and how you pay for it
- Any state, utility, or local programs [add the Missouri, Illinois, or Kansas programs you’ve confirmed, with links]
Before you buy, check the roof. If it’s near the end of its life, replacing it first avoids paying to remove and reinstall the panels later. SunSent handles both solar and roofing, so the two jobs can be planned together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the federal solar tax credit still available in 2026?
The 30% homeowner credit (Section 25D) ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025. Homeowners who buy and own a system installed in 2026 no longer qualify for it. Talk to a tax professional about your situation.
Do leased or PPA solar systems still qualify for a federal credit?
For leased or PPA systems, the company that owns the system may be able to claim a commercial credit under Section 48E, subject to construction-start and placed-in-service deadlines. Whether any benefit reaches the homeowner depends on the provider’s contract.
Do home solar batteries qualify for the federal tax credit in 2026?
The homeowner credit for batteries also ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, so a battery bought for your home in 2026 does not receive the 25D credit.
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