How to Get the 30% Solar Tax Credit in 2026 (After 25D Expired)
On December 31, 2025, the residential solar tax credit — Section 25D — expired. If you'd planned to buy a system with cash or a loan and claim a 30% credit on your personal taxes, that door is closed. But the 30% credit itself did not disappear. It is still very much alive, and most homeowners can still reach it. The route just changed.
The credit that survived is Section 48E, a commercial credit. The way a homeowner taps into it after 25D is through a solar lease or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): the installer owns the system, claims the 48E credit, and passes the value to you through lower financing terms. You never file a thing, but the 30% shows up in your monthly bill.
This guide explains exactly how the Section 48E pass-through works in 2026, how it compares to buying, and how to see your personalized numbers.
What Is Section 48E?
Section 48E is the Clean Electricity Investment Credit. It carries a 30% base credit rate and is part of the tech-neutral Clean Electricity framework that succeeds the older Section 48. Unlike 25D, which was a personal tax credit for homeowners, 48E is a commercial credit — it's claimed by the entity that owns the solar asset as a business investment.
That distinction is the whole story after 2025:
- Section 25D (expired): personal credit, claimed by a homeowner who owns their system. Gone as of Dec 31, 2025.
- Section 48E (active): commercial credit, claimed by the owner of the system — for a lease or PPA, that's the installer or developer, not you.
So the 30% federal credit still exists at the same rate; it just lives on the commercial side of the tax code now. The only question is how its value reaches a homeowner. That's the pass-through.
Lease vs PPA vs Cash: Who Gets the Credit?
How you pay for solar determines whether the 30% credit reaches you at all, and how. Here's the side-by-side for 2026:
| How You Pay | Who Owns It | Does the 30% Credit Reach You? | How You Receive the Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash / Loan purchase | You | No — 25D expired, and you can't claim 48E personally | No federal credit available to you |
| Solar Lease | Installer | Yes — installer claims 48E (30%) | Lower fixed monthly lease payment |
| PPA | Installer / Developer | Yes — installer claims 48E (30%) | Lower per-kWh rate |
The takeaway: if you buy outright in 2026, there is no federal credit for you. If you lease or sign a PPA, the 30% is captured by the system owner and folded into your price.
How Installers Structure the Pass-Through in 2026
The 48E credit is an asset the installer can monetize, and competitive installers use it to make their offers more attractive. In practice, the 30% value shows up in your contract in a few common ways:
- A lower monthly lease payment. The installer calculates what the system would cost to lease without the credit, then reduces the payment to reflect the 48E value they'll capture. You see a flat monthly number that's already discounted.
- A lower per-kWh PPA rate. Under a PPA you pay for the electricity the system produces. The 48E value lets the installer offer a lower cents-per-kWh rate, often below your utility's retail rate.
- Prepaid or down-payment options. Some installers let you prepay a lease or PPA for a larger upfront discount, effectively taking more of the 48E value as a lump sum rather than spread across the term.
The important thing to understand is that the credit is embedded in the financing terms, not handed to you separately. You won't see a line item labeled "48E credit." You'll see a monthly payment or kWh rate that is lower than it would be in a world with no credit. Because the structure varies by installer, the only reliable way to know what you're getting is to compare offers side by side.
Monthly Payment Comparison: With vs Without Pass-Through
The table below is an illustrative example — not a quote — for a sample ~8 kW residential system. It shows how the 48E pass-through typically lowers what you pay compared to a hypothetical no-credit scenario. Real numbers vary by location, system, and installer.
| Scenario (~8 kW system) | Monthly Cost | Where the 30% Shows Up |
|---|---|---|
| Hypothetical lease, no credit | ~$185/mo | Not available |
| Lease with 48E pass-through | ~$150/mo | Built into the lower payment |
| Hypothetical PPA, no credit | ~$0.17/kWh | Not available |
| PPA with 48E pass-through | ~$0.14/kWh | Built into the lower rate |
Over a 20-year term, that ~$35/month difference on a lease adds up to thousands in savings — and it exists only because the installer is capturing Section 48E. This is why, for many homeowners in 2026, a lease or PPA is the most cost-effective path: it's the only one that still reaches the 30%.
Get Your Personalized Comparison
Illustrative tables are useful, but your real decision depends on your roof, your local rates, your usage, and the offers installers actually bring you. Our 48E Financing Comparison tool models cash, loan, lease, and PPA side by side — with the Section 48E analysis built in for third-party-owned systems.
Compare lease vs PPA vs buying — with the 48E pass-through built in
Model all four financing paths over 25 years and see exactly how the 30% Section 48E credit changes your numbers. Free, no sign-up.
Get your personalized comparison →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still get the solar tax credit in 2026?
Yes, but not the way you used to. The residential Section 25D credit (30%) expired on December 31, 2025, so if you buy a system with cash or a loan for your primary home, there is no federal residential credit to claim. The 30% credit is still reachable indirectly: through a lease or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), the installer claims the commercial Section 48E credit and passes the value to you through lower payments.
What is Section 48E and does it apply to residential homes?
Section 48E is the Clean Electricity Investment Credit, a commercial tax credit set at a 30% base rate. It is part of the tech-neutral Clean Electricity framework and succeeds the older Section 48. A homeowner cannot claim 48E directly on a personal return, but a home can still benefit from it when the system is third-party owned (lease or PPA), because the installer/developer claims 48E on the system they own on your roof.
What is the difference between Section 25D and Section 48E?
Section 25D was the Residential Clean Energy Credit — a personal tax credit a homeowner claimed for a system they owned. It expired December 31, 2025. Section 48E is a commercial credit claimed by the system owner (the installer or developer for leased systems). The practical result after 2025: the 30% value still exists, but it flows through the financing structure rather than your personal tax return.
Can I claim the 48E credit myself if I buy my system?
No. Section 48E is a commercial credit, not a personal one, so a homeowner who buys a system for their primary residence cannot claim it on their individual taxes. If you buy with cash or a loan after 25D expired, there is no federal credit available to you personally. The route to the 30% value as a homeowner is a lease or PPA, where the installer claims 48E.
How does the 30% credit reach me through a lease or PPA?
The installer or developer owns the system and claims the 30% Section 48E credit on their taxes. They embed the value of that credit into the financing terms they offer you — typically as a lower monthly lease payment or a lower per-kWh PPA rate. You never file anything related to the credit; your benefit is the reduced cost baked into your contract.
Is a solar lease or PPA better than buying after 25D expired?
It depends on your goals. After 25D expired, buying with cash or a loan no longer carries a federal credit, which weakened the economics of ownership for many homeowners. A lease or PPA restores access to the 30% value via the 48E pass-through, usually with $0 upfront and a predictable monthly cost. Buying can still win in high-electricity-rate states or if you value long-term ownership and home equity. Compare both with your actual numbers.
Does the pass-through lower my monthly payment or my total cost?
Both, in most structures. The 48E credit value is embedded in your contract terms, so compared to a hypothetical scenario with no credit, your monthly payment is lower and your total cost over the term is lower. The exact split depends on the installer — some emphasize a low monthly payment, others a lower overall cost. Always compare multiple offers.
Where can I compare lease vs PPA offers?
Use our 48E Financing Comparison tool to model cash, loan, lease, and PPA side by side over 25 years, including the Section 48E analysis for third-party-owned systems. It turns the pass-through into numbers you can actually compare. See the personalized comparison link below.
The Section 48E pass-through is the single most important change for homeowners to understand in 2026. The 30% credit didn't vanish when Section 25D expired — it moved. For most homeowners, the practical way to reach it now runs through a lease or PPA, where the installer claims 48E and you collect the value every month in a lower bill.