Sunprint
At a glance
For most California homeowners buying solar now, the money that's left is the property tax exclusion and, at PG&E and SCE, a small bonus on exports. The rest is either over or limited to low-income homes. Where each one stands:
30% federal tax credit
Not available for home systems installed after December 31, 2025.
Property tax exclusion
Keeps solar out of your property tax assessment. A system started in 2026 has to be finished before January 1, 2027.
Bonus export credit
PG&E and SCE homes that apply by the end of 2027 get a little extra on each kWh sent to the grid, for nine years.
SGIP battery rebates
The general home battery budget ran through 2025. The low-income budget is closed or waitlisted in most areas.
DAC-SASH
No-cost rooftop solar for income-qualified homeowners in disadvantaged communities at PG&E, SCE and SDG&E.
City and utility programs
LADWP pays rent for a roof it puts its own panels on; San Diego helps income-qualified homeowners.
Without a federal credit, what solar saves on your bill does nearly all the work. Our payback guide runs the numbers by utility.
The 30% federal tax credit has ended
The IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit covered 30% of the cost of home solar installed from 2022 through December 31, 2025, and isn't available for property placed in service after that. You claim it for the tax year the system was installed, not the year you bought it, on Form 5695 with your return.
So a system installed in 2025 is claimed on your 2025 return. A system installed in 2026 gets no federal credit, even if you signed or paid in 2025.
Property tax exclusion: finish by December 31, 2026
Adding to a home normally counts as new construction, which adds to its assessed value. California's Revenue and Taxation Code section 73 makes an exception: a solar system isn't "newly constructed," so the value it adds stays out of your property tax. For a system that makes electricity, the law counts storage devices and the equipment that converts and transfers the power as part of the system.
The catch is the date. The Board of Equalization's letter to county assessors explains how the end works:
A system added in 2026 is excluded only if it's finished before January 1, 2027. Started but not finished doesn't count.
Section 73 stays in effect only until this date, unless the Legislature extends it.
A system that qualified stays out of your assessment until the home changes ownership.
Started in 2026 but finished on January 2, 2027? Then the system isn't excluded, unless the law is extended.
Our property tax guide covers new homes, buyers and what happens when a home sells.
The bonus export credit at PG&E and SCE
Under net billing, PG&E and SCE add a bonus on every kWh a home sends to the grid, for nine years. The CPUC calls it an export compensation adder; it shrinks with each year a home applies and stops for homes that apply after 2027:
It's small. For a home using 7,000 kWh a year with a system sized to 85% of that, the 2026 bonus works out to about $31 a year at PG&E and $55 at SCE in our model. Income-qualified homes get more: 3.6 cents per kWh at PG&E and 3.7 cents at SCE for 2026.
SDG&E homes don't get it; the CPUC says their systems already save more because SDG&E's rates are higher. Neither do homes that must have solar under the building code, and PG&E's and SCE's tariffs don't give it to someone who buys a home that already has solar.
SGIP battery rebates: mostly closed
The Self-Generation Incentive Program, SGIP, is the CPUC's rebate program for home batteries. Its budgets for most homes have run out, and the one still taking applications is for low-income homes:
| SGIP budget | Rebate | For | Status, Oct 29, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Residential Storage | $150 per kWh | PG&E, SCE, SDG&E and SoCalGas homes | Closed |
| Equity Resiliency | $1,000 per kWh | Those utilities' customers who meet extra criteria | Closed |
| San Joaquin Valley Residential | $1,100 per kWh | PG&E or SCE homes that meet extra criteria | Closed |
| Residential Solar and Storage Equity | $1,100 per kWh of battery, $3,100 per kW of solar | Low-income homes anywhere in California | Closed or waitlist in most areas |
The CPUC lists the first three as available through 2025. Status from the SGIP step tracker, which is updated nightly. Sources: CPUC SGIP page; selfgenca.com program metrics.
The low-income budget has $280 million from the CPUC and is open to low-income customers of any California utility, including city-owned ones such as LADWP. Projects have a year after reserving money to meet the rules, which include enrolling in a qualified demand response program. If you're counting on SGIP, check the step tracker for your area first.
Programs for income-qualified homeowners
DAC-SASH. The CPUC's Disadvantaged Communities Single-family Solar Homes program gives no-cost rooftop solar to homeowners who qualify for CARE or FERA and live in a disadvantaged community in PG&E, SCE or SDG&E territory. The CPUC defines those mostly as the top 25% of census tracts in the state's CalEnviroScreen pollution and vulnerability ranking. It pays $3 a watt for systems of 1 kW or more from a $10 million yearly budget that runs through 2030. GRID Alternatives runs it statewide for the CPUC.
If your roof won't work. Two CPUC programs, the Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff and the Community Solar Green Tariff, give qualifying residential customers in those communities a 20% bill discount from solar built elsewhere.
City and utility programs
LADWP Solar Rooftops. LADWP builds, owns and maintains a 1 to 10 kW system on your roof and keeps all the power it makes. You get up to $900 a year, as a check or bill credit, for 20 years, up to $18,000, with no upfront cost; your bill otherwise doesn't change. It's for owner-occupied single-family homes with composite shingle roofs on LADWP's residential rates.
San Diego Solar Equity Program. Funded by SDG&E shareholders under its franchise agreement with the City of San Diego, it puts $1 million a year for 10 years toward solar for income-qualified homeowners in the city. A small county pilot covers income-qualified homeowners in disadvantaged unincorporated areas, up to 22 single-family homes and 6 two-to-four-unit homes.
What a free quote call gets you
- One verified local installer
- The installed price for your roof
- Your payback years from that price
- Free, with no obligation
See what solar could save you
About a minute, and no phone number needed. If the number looks good, a free quote call gets you the exact price.
Common questions
Is there a solar tax credit in California in 2026?
Not the federal one: the IRS says the 30% credit isn't available for home systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. On the state side, California's property tax exclusion keeps a new system out of your property tax assessment if it's finished before January 1, 2027.
Can I still get the 30% federal credit if I signed in 2025?
Only if the system was installed by December 31, 2025. The IRS says you claim the credit for the tax year the system is installed, not merely purchased, so a 2025 contract for a system installed in 2026 doesn't qualify.
Are there solar rebates in California in 2026?
Few. SGIP's general home battery budget ran through 2025, and its low-income budget is closed or waitlisted in most areas. Income-qualified homeowners in disadvantaged communities can get no-cost solar through DAC-SASH, and LADWP pays homeowners rent to put its own panels on their roofs.
Does California's solar property tax exclusion cover batteries?
Yes, when the battery is part of the solar system. Revenue and Taxation Code section 73 says a solar system that makes electricity includes storage devices and the equipment that converts and transfers the power.
What is the SGIP battery rebate?
SGIP is the CPUC's Self-Generation Incentive Program. Its low-income Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget pays $1,100 per kWh of battery and $3,100 per kW of solar; as of October 29, 2026 it was closed or waitlisted in most areas. The $150 per kWh budget for other homes ran through 2025.
Related guides
- California solar calculator
- Solar and property tax in California
- Solar batteries in California
- "Free" solar offers in California
- Is solar worth it in California?
- NEM 3.0 in California, explained
Programs open, close and change; the status here is as of October 29, 2026. Model figures are estimates for a typical home, not a quote for yours. Sources: IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit · Revenue and Taxation Code 73 · BOE Letter to Assessors 2024/031 · PG&E Schedule NBT · SCE Schedule NBT · CPUC: net metering and net billing · CPUC: SGIP · SGIP step tracker · CPUC: Solar in Disadvantaged Communities · LADWP Solar Rooftops · San Diego Solar Equity Program. Reviewed October 2026.
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