The federal residential solar credit ended after 2025. What that means for a system today

For years, almost every solar quote in California led with the federal tax credit. That line is gone, and it is worth being clear about why, so you can read any estimate, including ours, with the right expectations.

What ended

The Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit let homeowners claim a share of the cost of a solar or battery system on their federal return. Under the legislation signed in 2025, the credit does not apply to residential systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. A system installed in 2026 does not qualify, regardless of when the contract was signed.

Commercial and third-party-owned systems fall under different rules and different timelines. This post is about systems you buy and own on your own home.

What about SGIP?

California's Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) paid rebates on home batteries for years. The general-market budgets are largely exhausted. Some categories for vulnerable households and fire-prone areas have had their own funding, with their own eligibility rules, and they open and close as money is allocated. We do not quote SGIP in our estimates. If you may qualify for an equity or resiliency category, your installer can check at the time of the proposal.

How to read an estimate now

• Look for the price before incentives. That is the number you are actually agreeing to. Our solar designer and battery designer show every figure that way and label it as an estimate.
• Be skeptical of a credit on the quote. If a 2026 residential quote shows a federal credit, ask what statute it relies on.
• Ask what is confirmed and what is assumed. Utility rate, roof condition, panel count and electrical upgrades are confirmed at the site visit. Anything before that is a model.
• Judge the system on what it does. Under the Net Billing Tariff, the value is in using your own power in the evening. During a shutoff, the value is that the house keeps running.

What we do

Revio designs residential solar and home battery systems, and licensed California installers build them. Our estimates use the current price sheet and the loans available at the time, with no credit, rebate or savings figure assumed. When something changes at the state or federal level, the designer changes with it.

If you want to see a design on your roof, start with your bill. If you only want backup, size a battery.