Section 25D — Residential Clean Energy Credit (EXPIRED 2025)
Also known as: IRA 25DResidential Clean Energy CreditSolar tax creditITC
Section 25D of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code was the federal tax credit that paid back 30% of what you spent on solar PV, battery storage (3 kWh+), solar water heaters, geothermal, and small wind systems. Expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 to include standalone batteries. Originally scheduled to remain at 30% through 2032.
The credit expired December 31, 2025, terminated early by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed in 2025. For systems installed in 2026 and later, Section 25D no longer applies to homeowner-owned systems.
What still works in 2026: no federal residential energy credit does. Section 25C — the separate credit for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters and a supporting electrical panel upgrade — ended on the same date as this one, for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. So did Section 30C, the home EV-charger credit. What remains is state and local: PG&E and Central Coast Community Energy rebates, SGIP for battery storage with a higher tier in high fire-threat areas, and GoGreen Home financing, which is a California financing programme rather than a tax provision and is unaffected. Programme terms move around, so we check what applies to a specific job rather than working from a list.
A lot of solar marketing in 2026 still references "30% federal tax credit" because it was the law for nearly two decades. We don't, because it's no longer true for owned systems. If a competitor's pitch leans on the 25D credit for an owned 2026 install, that's either out-of-date material or a misrepresentation.
Solar + battery still pencils out in California under NEM 3.0 because PG&E rates are high enough and going up fast enough. But the path is now self-consumption (avoided utility cost) and state programs, not the federal tax credit. We sell owned systems only — cash or GoGreen Financing — and we model the owned-system math at the free inspection. We don't sell third-party agreements and don't recommend them.
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