Is there still a federal solar tax credit to stack state incentives on top of?

No. The 30% federal residential credit (Section 25D) ended for purchases after December 31, 2025. State and utility incentives are now the only direct incentives available to homeowners who buy their systems — which makes where you live matter more to solar economics than it ever has.

Do all states offer solar incentives?

No, and the gap is wide. New York offers a 25% tax credit up to $5,000 plus upfront NY-Sun rebates; New Jersey pays a guaranteed price per megawatt-hour for 15 years; Maryland pays a $1,000 rebate plus strong SREC income. Meanwhile Georgia and Ohio offer essentially nothing beyond their electricity rates. Check our state guides for specifics.

Are state solar incentives permanent?

No. State programs are frequently time-limited, budget-capped, or changed by legislation — and 2025–2026 proved it: Maryland scheduled its 1:1 net metering to sunset in July 2027, Duke Energy's North Carolina Bridge Rate closes December 31, 2026, and New Jersey's SuSI rate stepped down from $85 to $76.50. Always confirm current program status before counting on an incentive.

State Solar Incentives: A Complete Overview

Update (July 2026): with the federal residential tax credit ended as of December 31, 2025, state-level incentives are no longer a bonus on top of a federal baseline — they are the incentive landscape. That makes the state-by-state differences below the most important part of any 2026 solar decision.

The main types of state incentives

State tax credits

A few states offer their own income tax credit. The remaining big ones among our guides: New York (25% up to $5,000), Arizona (25% up to $1,000), and Massachusetts (15% up to $1,000). These are now the largest solar tax credits available anywhere in the U.S.

Cash rebates and grants

A direct payment that reduces out-of-pocket cost, from the state or a utility: Maryland’s flat $1,000 rebate, NY-Sun’s ~$0.20–$0.40/W upfront discount, Duke Energy’s PowerPair (up to ~$9,000 for solar + battery in North Carolina, while capacity lasts). Rebates usually have annual budgets and can close mid-year.

Production incentives and SRECs

Programs that pay you per unit of electricity generated. Two flavors:

Market-traded SRECs — you sell one certificate per MWh at floating prices: recently ~$50–$90 in Maryland, ~$22–$40 in Pennsylvania, ~$3 in Ohio. See our SRECs explainer.
Fixed-price programs — New Jersey’s SuSI pays a locked $76.50/MWh for 15 years; Massachusetts SMART pays ~3¢/kWh for 10 years; Illinois Shines pays ~15 years of certificate value upfront.

Net metering policies

Not a payment, but the policy that decides what your exported electricity is worth — anywhere from full retail value (Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) to a fraction of it (Arizona ~3¢, Georgia ~7¢, California’s NEM 3.0 ~3–8¢). This single policy often matters more than any rebate — see our net metering explainer.

Sales and property tax exemptions

Many states exempt solar equipment from sales tax and/or exclude the added home value from property tax. Individually small, but automatic and permanent — Florida and Texas’s property tax exemptions are worth real money over a system’s life.

The post-federal landscape: states now sort into tiers

With no federal credit equalizing things, our 15 state guides roughly sort into:

Strong stacks: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland — tax credits, rebates, or guaranteed production income on top of high electricity rates
Good fundamentals, few programs: Colorado, Florida, Pennsylvania — full retail net metering does the work
Deadline-driven: North Carolina (Bridge Rate closes Dec 31, 2026), Maryland again (net metering sunsets July 1, 2027)
Self-consumption states: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, Illinois, California — weak export compensation means sizing and batteries matter more than incentive-hunting
Bare fundamentals: Texas, Ohio — the quote price is nearly the whole game

How to find what your state actually offers

Check our state guides — each now lists current rates, export policy, and active programs with amounts and official sources.
Check DSIRE (the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, run by NC State) — the most complete national database of active programs.
Check your state energy office or utility commission website for authoritative current status — programs change faster than most articles get updated.
Ask installers which incentives they routinely file for — then verify the program still has funding before signing.

Combining incentives in your cost estimate

Start with the pre-incentive cost — see our cost by system size reference.
Subtract any upfront state rebate or grant (NY-Sun, Maryland’s rebate, PowerPair).
Subtract any state tax credit you can actually use against your state tax bill.
Count production income (SRECs, SuSI, SMART) and net metering savings as annual cash flow, not upfront discounts.

Our calculator estimates pre-incentive cost and annual bill savings from your state’s average rate; layer your state’s specific programs on top from the list above.

Bottom line

In 2026, solar incentives are decided in state capitols and utility commissions, not Washington. The same system that pays back comfortably in New Jersey may never break even in Ohio — so before comparing installer quotes, know which tier your state is in and which deadlines apply to it.