Solar Incentives by the Numbers: What the 50 States Actually Offer in 2026
We compiled and verified 231 current solar-incentive programs across 51 US jurisdictions (50 states + DC), each cited to an official source, then counted how the incentives actually break down. Every figure below is counted from our own primary-source dataset; electricity rates are from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (March 2026). We publish no figure we could not verify at the source.
Key findings
- The 30% federal residential credit is gone for new installs. The §25D Residential Clean Energy Credit expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025 — so in 2026 the action moves to state and utility programs, which is exactly what this dataset maps.
- 51 jurisdictions, 231 active programs — about 4.5 per state. California leads with 8 verified programs; thin states genuinely have few statewide programs and are recorded honestly rather than padded.
- Property-tax exemptions and net metering, not headline tax credits, are the backbone. 37 states exempt solar from property tax and 49 have net metering or net billing, versus 10 with an active state income-tax credit or deduction. A state with no “solar tax credit” can still be a strong solar state.
- 19 jurisdictions offer community solar — the option for renters and roofs that can’t host panels — and 23 waive sales tax on the equipment.
- 5 states have a repealed or closed program still in homeowners’ memory (e.g. repealed state credits). We keep these flagged as expired so no one counts on an incentive that no longer exists.
Electricity rates and why they matter
Payback depends as much on what you pay for power as on incentives. Across our dataset residential rates (March 2026) run from about 11.95¢/kWh in North Dakota to about 42.23¢/kWh in Hawaii — so the same system pays back far faster in a high-rate state, incentives aside. How rate drives payback →
How we built this
For each of 51 jurisdictions we verified every program against an official source — a state energy office, revenue or tax department, public utility commission, legislature statute, or the IRS/DOE — and recorded the program type, amount, eligibility, administrator, and citation. The counts on this page are simple tallies over that table. We deliberately exclude closed or expired programs from the “active” counts (they are flagged separately), and we never cite or reproduce a third-party aggregator. See our full methodology.
Program data: our own primary-source compilation (cited per program on each state page). Rates: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly Table 5.6.A (March 2026), a public-domain US government work. Informational only — not tax advice.
Compare every state side by side →
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a 30% federal solar tax credit in 2026?
No. The federal residential Clean Energy Credit (§25D), which equaled 30% of qualified costs, expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. New 2026 residential installations do not qualify; a system placed in service in 2025 can still be claimed on a 2025 federal return.
How many states have a solar tax credit?
In our verified dataset, 10 of 51 jurisdictions have an active state solar income-tax credit or deduction. Far more states use other mechanisms — 37 have a property-tax exemption and 23 a sales-tax exemption — so the absence of a headline 'credit' does not mean no incentive.
What is the most common solar incentive?
A property-tax exemption is the most common single mechanism in our dataset (37 jurisdictions), followed by net metering or net billing (49). These shape solar economics as much as a tax credit does.
Does a higher electricity rate make solar pay off faster?
Generally yes: the residential rate (cents per kilowatt-hour) is the single biggest driver of payback, because every kWh your panels offset is worth that rate. That is why high-rate states can see faster payback even without a state tax credit.