Is there still a federal solar tax credit in 2026?

No, not for a home system you buy and finish now. The federal credit for people who own their panels was the Residential Clean Energy Credit. The IRS says it is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. In service means the install is done. On a lease or a PPA, you never got this credit at all.

What was the federal solar tax credit?

The credit most people mean is the Residential Clean Energy Credit. The IRS also calls it the section 25D credit, after the part of the tax code it comes from.

It was for people who paid for a system for the home they live in. The credit was 30% of the cost of new, qualified clean energy property. That rate applied to systems installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025. The IRS list of what counted includes solar electric panels and, from 2023, battery storage.

You took the credit on your own federal tax return. The IRS says it was claimed for the tax year the system was installed, not the year it was bought.

A short version lives in our glossary.

Did the credit end, or just get smaller?

It ended. The IRS says the credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. There is no smaller version for a home system finished in 2026.

The end came sooner than first planned. The credit was ended early by a federal law dated July 4, 2025. The IRS says that law sped up the end of several energy credits, and this was one of them.

The same end date covers home batteries. The credit counted batteries as qualified property, but the cutoff applies to any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. A battery added to a home in 2026 does not get the 25D credit either.

What if you paid in 2025 but the install finished in 2026?

You don't get the credit. The IRS answered this exact question in its list of questions and answers on the change.

"Placed in service" is the tax term for a system that is done. For this credit, the IRS counts the cost when the installation is completed, not when you pay. A signed contract, a deposit or a full payment in 2025 does not change that date. If the install was finished after December 31, 2025, the IRS answer is no 25D credit.

If your system was finished in 2025, it falls inside the dates the IRS gives. The IRS says the credit is claimed for the tax year the system was installed, which for a system finished in 2025 is the 2025 tax year. Other IRS rules still apply.

Say the panels went up in late December 2025, but the install was completed in January 2026. The January date is the one that counts. If you are not sure which date counts for your system, ask a tax professional. This page can't make that call for your home.

Do you get a tax credit on a solar lease or PPA?

No. That was true before 2026, and it is still true.

With a lease or a PPA (power purchase agreement), the panels sit on your roof, but you don't own them. The U.S. Department of Energy says those systems are owned by the solar company, not the homeowner. On a PPA, you pay every month for the power the system makes, at the rate in your contract.

Because you don't own the system, the tax side is not yours. The Department of Energy says a lease or PPA brings no tax benefits for the homeowner, who does not own the system. So the end of the 25D credit did not take a credit away from a lease or PPA home. There was no homeowner credit to take.

The company that owns the system is a separate case. The Illinois Power Agency says the federal credit on these systems is not available to the homeowner on their tax return.

That is a business credit for the owner of the panels. It is not the 25D credit, and it never goes on your tax return. What you pay is set by your contract, so read it and the Disclosure Form line by line.

See also: PPA, lease or buy.

What if a seller still counts the tax credit in 2026?

Then the pitch is out of date. The Illinois Power Agency has written rules for how the solar companies it works with talk about this.

The Illinois Power Agency puts out a consumer protection handbook for the solar companies it works with. It says any mention of the federal tax credit must be accurate and current. Its exact words add that the mention "must not be misleading."

For a home system finished in 2026, current means no 25D credit. So a quote, a sales talk or a web page that still counts the 25D credit for a 2026 system is out of date. The same goes for any pitch that says you get a tax credit on a lease or PPA. The Department of Energy says those tax benefits are not yours.

If you see the credit in a pitch, ask the seller to show you where it appears in your paperwork, and what date it depends on. Then read the How it works section of the IRS page yourself. Its second sentence gives the end date, and the IRS questions and answers on the change say the same.

Every fact on this page opens a card with the IRS or state page it came from and the day we read it. The full list is on our data page.

Is net metering a tax credit?

No. Net metering is a credit on your electric bill, not on your taxes. It is set by Illinois law and shows up on your utility bill. The end of the federal 25D credit did not end it.

Net metering gives a credit on your bill for the power your panels send to the grid. For a new system in Ameren Illinois territory, that means credit for supply charges only. Our guide to net metering in Ameren Illinois explains what that credit covers and what it leaves out.

Solar does not end your utility account. You stay a utility customer, responsible for a utility bill. Our guide on whether you still get a utility bill with solar walks through the lines that stay.

Quick answers

Is there a federal solar tax credit for homeowners in 2026?

Not for a home system that is finished in 2026. The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025.

I paid in 2025, but the install was finished in 2026. Do I get the credit?

No. The IRS counts the cost when the installation is completed, not when you pay. If the install was finished after December 31, 2025, there is no 25D credit.

Did the credit get smaller, or did it end?

It ended. There is no smaller version for a home system finished in 2026. That includes home batteries.

Do I get a tax credit on a solar lease or PPA?

No. A solar company owns the system, so the tax benefits are not yours. That was true before 2026 too.

What if a seller still counts the 25D credit for a 2026 system?

The pitch is out of date. The Illinois Power Agency's consumer protection handbook says any mention of the federal tax credit must be accurate and current.