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Federal tax credit status for home batteries, 8 Nov 2026

No. A homeowner who finishes installing a battery in 2026 cannot claim the 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit (section 25D), because the credit does not apply to expenditures made after 31 Dec 2025. This page records the dates and what each official source says, and it gives no tax advice.

Status pageUpdated 8 Nov 2026

Data as of 8 Nov 2026, source: IRS Residential Clean Energy Credit; IRS FAQ FS-2025-05; CRS IN12611 and IN12719

Table of contents

Dates

Federal dates behind home battery creditsTimeline: the law was enacted on 4 July 2025, the IRS published its FAQ on 21 August 2025, the homeowner credit 25D ended for expenditures after 31 December 2025, solar facilities had to begin construction before 5 July 2026 for the business credit 48E, and solar facilities not begun by then must be placed in service before 1 January 2028.4 Jul 2025P.L. 119-21 enacted; it ends theresidential credit after 202521 Aug 2025IRS publishes FAQ FS-2025-05 on 25Dand 25C termination31 Dec 202525D: last day for expenditures. 25C:last day for property placed inservice5 Jul 202648E: solar and wind facilities thatbegan construction before this daykeep the credit31 Dec 202748E: other solar and wind facilitiesmust be placed in service before 1 Jan2028
Federal dates behind home battery credits. Timeline: the law was enacted on 4 July 2025, the IRS published its FAQ on 21 August 2025, the homeowner credit 25D ended for expenditures after 31 December 2025, solar facilities had to begin construction before 5 July 2026 for the business credit 48E, and solar facilities not begun by then must be placed in service before 1 January 2028.

The IRS page for the Residential Clean Energy Credit says the credit equals 30% of the cost of qualified property installed from 2022 through 31 Dec 2025 and "is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025." Battery storage technology of at least 3 kWh has been on its list since 2023. Both batteries in our Powerwall 3 and Enphase 10C comparison are above that size, which mattered only for installs finished in 2025 or earlier.

What counts as made in 2025

Paying in 2025 does not rescue an install that finishes in 2026. IRS FAQ 7 says an expenditure is treated as made when the original installation is completed, so a battery whose installation is completed after 31 Dec 2025 is treated as an expenditure made after that date, even if it was paid for on or before it. For a new home, the date is when the taxpayer's original use of the structure begins. The Congressional Research Service reads the statute the same way in its September 2025 Insight, and the statute's termination clause says the credit does not apply to expenditures made after 31 Dec 2025.

Credits already earned

The credit is nonrefundable: it cannot reduce tax below zero. The IRS page says unused credit can be carried forward to later years, and CRS adds that P.L. 119-21 did not change those carryforward rules, so a person who made a qualifying expenditure in 2025 or earlier can keep carrying forward the unused part. CRS cites IRS data for tax year 2023 in which about 43% of 1.4 million claimants carried part of their credit forward and about 10% carried all of it. How much you owe and can use is a question for a tax professional.

Section 48E, the business credit

Section 48E is a separate credit for the owner of a qualifying facility, which can be a company that owns equipment on a home. The July 2026 CRS Insight says energy storage qualifies for 48E at 30% of the investment when its prevailing wage and apprenticeship conditions are met (the CRS table assumes this), with bonus points for some locations and for domestic content. For storage the dates are long: facilities that begin construction before 2034 qualify for the full credit, and those that begin in 2034 or 2035 qualify for a partial one. Wind and solar facilities have shorter limits: construction begun before 5 Jul 2026, or placed in service before 1 Jan 2028.

On leasing, the statute text we read (26 U.S.C. 48E(i), as amended through 15 Oct 2026) denies the credit when property described in paragraphs (1) and (4) of section 25D(d) is leased to a third party. Those paragraphs are qualified solar water heating property and qualified small wind energy property. Solar electric panels and battery storage are paragraphs (2) and (6), so the clause does not name them. That is a reading of the text, and we did not read Treasury regulations or guidance on residential leases. Whether a lease or power purchase agreement price reflects any business credit is the provider's decision, and none of the sources we read says how providers price it.

What is left to look at

With the homeowner credit gone, the programs that remain are state and utility ones. The battery incentives ledger lists those whose official page we opened, with the amount as published, open or closed status, and the date we checked. For the price those programs offset, see home battery cost. Rebates and utility subsidies can change how much of a purchase counts for tax purposes, as the IRS page explains for the old credit, and whether a given payment is taxable income is also a tax-professional question. Datasheet specifications for the batteries themselves are in the battery table.

Sources and what we did not read

The end date of 25D rests on four documents. The 48E dates for storage and for solar rest on one summary (CRS IN12719), and the leasing clause rests on the statute text alone. Not read: Treasury and IRS regulations or notices for 48E on residential property, Form 3468 instructions, IRS Form 5695 instructions. This page states what these documents say. It is not tax advice, and tax law can change after the date above.