Home battery tax credits and rebates in 2026
The headline 30% residential credit is over for new homeowner-owned batteries. This page exists so you do not budget with a dead number.
IRS FAQs on Public Law 119-21 (checked 30 August 2026): the credit “will not be allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025.” An expenditure is treated as made when original installation of the item is completed — paying in 2025 does not save a 2026 install. 26 U.S.C. § 25D(h). Confirm on IRS.gov before you file anything. We are not tax advisers. The prior ENERGY STAR battery-credit URL 404ed on 30 August 2026.
What still might reduce the bill
- State and utility rebates — California SGIP, some Northeast connected-solutions / BYOD programs, occasional Texas utility pilots. Amounts and waitlists change. Use dsireusa.org and your utility’s “storage” or “battery” page.
- Third-party ownership / leases — Tesla and others have described commercial credit value flowing through a lease after 25D ended for homeowners. That is a financing product, not a 30% credit on your Form 5695. Read the contract.
- Sales tax holidays / local property exemptions — state-specific; do not generalize.
How to actually run that check — zip, utility portal, waitlist vs cash — is a separate page: How to check state and utility rebates after 25D ended.
What to ignore
Any 2026 “best batteries” article that still shows an “after 30% ITC” column for a system you will own. That includes our own January draft of this site, which was wrong and has been rewritten.
Historically the largest adder. Budget, equity carve-outs, and step-downs change. Ask an installer for the current step in your utility territory; do not use a 2024 $/Wh screenshot.
Assume zero federal homeowner credit, then add only programs you can name and link. If you cannot find the program on the utility or DSIRE, it is not in your budget.
- Read ENERGY STAR / IRS 25D language for the year you will place the system in service.
- Search DSIRE by zip.
- Ask two installers which utility programs they have actually closed in the last 90 days.
- Talk to a tax professional if anyone mentions a lease or commercial credit.