The 30% federal residential solar tax credit is gone.

It applied to solar panels, batteries and other clean energy equipment installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025. For anything placed in service after that date, the IRS is clear: the credit is not available.

On a $30,000 solar and battery system, that was roughly $9,000 of value. It is the largest change to home solar economics in years, and it applies in every state.

In simple terms:

One‑off tax help is over. Ongoing bill savings are what's left.

What Actually Changed

The credit was never a cheque. It reduced the tax you owed, up to the amount of the credit. If your credit was larger than your tax bill, you did not get cash back.

It also had limits. Landlords could not claim it, and it applied mainly to your primary home.

Solar panels, solar water heating, battery storage, wind and geothermal heat pumps, and fuel cells all qualified. That list is now closed.

If You Installed in 2025, Check This

Many homeowners could not use the full credit in a single year.

The IRS lets you carry forward unused credit and apply it against tax you owe in future years. If you installed in 2024 or 2025, ask your tax preparer before assuming that money is lost.

What California Homeowners Can Still Claim

The property tax exclusion is the one most homeowners overlook. California does not add the value of an active solar energy system to your property's assessed value. Under the statute, for systems that generate electricity, that includes storage devices — so a battery counts too.

It is not permanent. The statute runs through the 2025–26 fiscal year, with systems qualifying before January 1, 2027 continuing to be excluded until the property changes hands.

Why Batteries Matter More Now

California moved new solar connections onto the net billing tariff in April 2023. Power you export is now worth far less than the power you buy.

That flipped the question. A system's value now comes from how much of its output you use yourself, and a battery is how you do that.

Timing is the problem. Panels produce most in the afternoon. Most homes use most in the evening.

A battery system can help:

1. Store midday solar for evening use
2. Reduce peak‑hour electricity costs
3. Protect against rising utility rates
4. Provide backup power during outages

The Question Homeowners Are Asking Now

The question is no longer:

"How much tax credit can I get?"

The better question is:

"How much can I make this system save me every month?"

That is a conversation about your rate schedule and your usage, not a headline number. It is also a better conversation than the one homeowners were having three years ago.

That is why so many California homeowners are now looking at storage first, and solar second.

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Sources

1. IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit (https://www.irs.gov/credits‑deductions/residential‑clean‑energy‑credit)
2. California Revenue & Taxation Code §73 (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC§ionNum=73)
3. CPUC — Net Energy Metering (https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/industries‑and‑topics/electrical‑energy/demand‑side‑management/net‑energy‑metering)

General information, not tax advice. Confirm your own eligibility with the IRS, your county assessor and a tax professional.