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Energy / IRA Tax Credits

How much do federal tax credits pay back on your energy upgrades?

Enter what you spent on solar, batteries, heat pumps, insulation, and other upgrades, and when they were installed. We’ll estimate the federal tax credits you can claim. Most of these credits ended for installs after 2025, so this mainly helps with 2025 projects claimed on your 2025 return (or an amended one).

  1. A credit cuts your tax bill directly

    A comes off the tax you owe dollar for dollar: a $1,000 credit means $1,000 less tax. That’s worth more than a deduction of the same size.

  2. Three programs, each with limits

    Clean energy systems like solar get 30% back with no cap. Efficiency upgrades get 30% up to $2,000 a year for heat pumps and $1,200 for everything else. EV chargers get 30% up to $1,000, only in eligible areas.

  3. The install date decides it

    The ended the solar and efficiency credits for installs after December 31, 2025, and the EV charger credit after June 30, 2026. Pick when your work was installed.
The cost to enter is the total on your installer’s invoice, equipment plus labor. Keep the manufacturer’s certification statement too. The energy tax credits guide covers each credit and the state and utility rebates that remain.
When it was installed
Solar and efficiency credits ended for installs after Dec 31, 2025 (claim 2025 installs on your 2025 return or an amended return). The EV charger credit ended after June 30, 2026.
Clean energy systems (§25D): 30%, no yearly cap

Systems that make or store energy at your primary or second home. Enter the full installed cost of each.

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Efficiency upgrades (§25C): 30%, with yearly caps

Upgrades to your primary residence. Heat pumps share a $2,000 yearly cap; everything else shares $1,200, with smaller limits per item. 2025 was the last year.

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EV charger (§30C): 30%, up to $1,000

A home charger for an electric vehicle. Only homes in certain census tracts qualify.

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Home in an eligible census tract?

Since the IRA, the home EV charger credit only applies in low-income or non-urban census tracts. Check the DOE’s eligibility map.

Total federal tax credits

$11,850(29% back on $41,000 spent)

Credits reduce your federal tax bill dollar for dollar. They stack with state rebates and utility incentives, which can add to the savings. Unused §25D credit carries forward if your tax isn’t high enough to use it all in one year.

Clean energy credit (§25D)

$11,100

30% × $37,000 (solar, battery, geothermal)

Heat pump credit (§25C)

$0

30% × $0

Other upgrades credit (§25C)

$750

insulation + windows + doors + audit + panel

EV charger credit (§30C)

$0

only in low-income or non-urban census tracts

What this means

Of the $41,000 you entered, $11,850 comes back as federal tax credits, about 29%. Most of it comes from clean energy systems (§25D) ($11,100). To use it all, you need at least $11,850 of federal income tax for the year: these credits can’t create a refund on their own.

File Form 5695 with your return. See the energy tax credits guide for equipment requirements and rebate stacking.

Strategy and common mistakes

Most of these credits have ended. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1, signed July 2025) moved up the end dates. The §25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit ends for property placed in service after Dec 31, 2025, and the §25D Residential Clean Energy Credit ends for expenditures made after Dec 31, 2025 (generally, when installation is complete). The §30C EV charger credit ends for property placed in service after June 30, 2026. Installs in 2026 don’t qualify for §25C or §25D. Use this tool for 2025 installs claimed on your 2025 return (or an amended return).

The §25C $1,200 cap was yearly, but 2025 was the last year. Spreading projects across years to reset the cap no longer works: only property placed in service by Dec 31, 2025 counts.

You can stack the credits with state and utility rebates. The also funded state-run rebate programs (HEEHRP and HOMES) worth up to $14,000 per household for low-to-moderate incomes. State rollouts vary, so check your state energy office. Utility rebates treated as a “purchase-price adjustment” can reduce the cost the federal credit is based on; state income tax credits generally don’t. Treasury guidance on how HEEHRP rebates affect that cost is still evolving.

Get the energy audit first. It costs about $500, earns a $150 credit, and tells you which improvements pay back best in your home. The auditor must be RESNET- or BPI-certified for the credit.

Both §25D and §25C are non-refundable, so they’re limited to the tax you owe. Unused §25D credit carries forward; §25C credit doesn’t. Plan for this if your tax bill is low (for example, if you’re retired or have a low income).

Rentals don’t qualify. §25D covers a primary or second home and §25C a primary residence only. Solar on a rental may instead qualify for the business clean electricity credit (), which ends for solar placed in service after 2027 unless construction began by July 4, 2026, so ask a CPA. Other upgrades on a rental are recovered through business .

File Form 5695 with your 1040. Keep receipts and manufacturer certification statements for 7 years. Credits you claim also lower your home’s for the upgrade.

See the full energy credits guide for stacking with state and utility rebates, eligibility maps, and how HEEHRP rebates interact. Tax law depends on your specific facts, so consult a CPA on edge cases.

Results are estimates based on your inputs and the assumptions on this page, not quotes or advice. A lender, servicer, or tax advisor will give you different numbers. Disclaimer

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Terms used on this page

What §25D, §25C, §30C, and the other labels on this page refer to.

Tax credit
An amount subtracted directly from the federal tax you owe: a $1,000 credit means $1,000 less tax. A deduction only lowers the income you’re taxed on.
Non-refundable credit
A credit that can lower your tax to zero but not below, so it can’t create a refund. Unused §25D credit carries forward to later years; §25C credit doesn’t.
§25D Residential Clean Energy Credit
30% of the cost of solar panels, batteries, geothermal heat pumps, and solar water heaters, with no yearly cap. It ended for installs after December 31, 2025.
§25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
30% of the cost of heat pumps (up to $2,000 a year) and insulation, windows, doors, audits, and panels (up to $1,200 a year). It ended for installs after December 31, 2025.
§30C EV charger credit
30% of a home EV charger and its installation, up to $1,000, for homes in low-income or non-urban census tracts. It ended for chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026.
Placed in service
The date equipment is installed and ready to use. It decides which tax year, and which credits, apply.
IRA and OBBBA
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expanded these credits to 30%. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended them early.
HEEHRP rebates
State-run rebates funded by the IRA, up to $14,000 per household for heat pumps, panels, insulation, and similar upgrades. They’re income-tested and separate from the tax credits.

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