Are the federal home energy tax credits still available in 2026?

What the rule says

No — for new work. As of the official sources reviewed on August 16, 2026, the two main federal home energy tax credits are no longer available for property installed in 2026. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (26 U.S.C. section 25C) is not allowed for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the Residential Clean Energy Credit (26 U.S.C. section 25D) is not allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025. Both terminations were enacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, July 4, 2025), which accelerated the credits' original expiration dates, and both are confirmed by the current text of the United States Code, the IRS OBBB modification FAQs (FS-2025-05), and the current IRS credit pages.

What remains available in 2026: claiming either credit for qualifying property installed on or before December 31, 2025, on the 2025 tax return; carrying forward an unused 25D credit to 2026 and later years (25C has no carryover); and other incentives such as the separate Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (section 30C) for EV charging property, which the IRS OBBB FAQs state continues for property placed in service through June 30, 2026, plus state and utility programs.

Which authority controls

The controlling law is the Internal Revenue Code: 26 U.S.C. sections 25C and 25D, as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-169) and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21). The current U.S. Code text published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (laws in effect August 15, 2026) shows the 2025 amendments: section 25C(i) terminates the credit for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and section 25D(h) terminates it for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, with the former 2033/2034 phase-down percentages struck from section 25D(g).

The IRS pages — Home energy tax credits, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, Residential Clean Energy Credit, the OBBB FAQs, and the Instructions for Form 5695 — are official agency guidance that taxpayers use to prepare returns, but where an IRS page conflicts with the statute, the statute controls. One such conflict exists and is described below.

What the credits covered, and their limits

Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C). For qualifying property placed in service from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2025, the credit is 30 percent of qualified expenses, with an annual cap of $1,200 for most items and a separate annual limit of $2,000 for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and biomass stoves and boilers — the IRS page describes a combined maximum of $3,200 per year. Within the $1,200 cap: exterior windows and skylights are limited to $600 total; exterior doors to $250 per door and $500 total; central air conditioners, gas/propane/oil water heaters, furnaces and hot water boilers, and 200-amp-or-larger electrical panel upgrades to $600 per item; and home energy audits to $150. The credit applies to an existing home in the United States that is generally the taxpayer's principal residence. Building envelope components must meet Energy Star requirements (doors) or Energy Star Most Efficient certification (windows and skylights) or the applicable International Energy Conservation Code criteria (insulation and air sealing); energy property must meet the Consortium for Energy Efficiency highest efficiency tier in effect when installed. For items placed in service in 2025, the property generally must be produced by a qualified manufacturer and the qualified product identification number (QMID) reported on the return; insulation and air sealing materials are the only exempt category. The credit is nonrefundable, has no lifetime limit, and cannot be carried forward.

Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D). For expenditures made from 2022 through December 31, 2025, the credit is 30 percent of costs with no annual or lifetime dollar limit, except fuel cell property, which is limited to $500 per half kilowatt of capacity (and a combined $1,667 per half kilowatt for jointly occupied homes). Qualifying property: solar electric panels, solar water heating (certified by the Solar Rating Certification Corporation or a comparable state-endorsed entity), small wind turbines, geothermal heat pumps (meeting Energy Star requirements at purchase), fuel cells (installed at the principal residence), and battery storage technology with at least 3 kilowatt hours of capacity (beginning 2023). Labor for onsite preparation, assembly, original installation, and interconnection piping or wiring counts. The credit applies to new or existing homes in the United States used as residences — owned or rented — and, for most items, to a second home; fuel cells are limited to the main home. Solar roofing tiles and shingles qualify; roofing components that serve only a structural function do not. The credit is nonrefundable, and the unused portion carries forward to future years.

Timing rules that matter in 2026

For 25C, the cutoff is placed in service: the property must be placed in service on or after January 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2025. For 25D, the cutoff is expenditures made: under 26 U.S.C. section 25D(e)(8)(A), an expenditure is treated as made when the original installation of the item is completed, and for construction or reconstruction, when the taxpayer's original use of the structure begins. The IRS OBBB FAQs make the consequence explicit: if installation is completed after December 31, 2025, the expenditure is treated as made after that date, which prevents the 25D credit — even if you paid on or before December 31, 2025. Both credits are claimed on the return for the year the property is installed, not merely purchased. The Instructions for Form 5695 confirm the same timing rule for costs of both credits and state that Form 5695 is used to take any residential clean energy credit carryforward from 2024 or to carry the unused portion of the residential clean energy credit to 2026.

Carryover

The Residential Clean Energy Credit carries forward: 26 U.S.C. section 25D(c) adds any excess of the credit over the tax liability limitation to the credit allowable for the succeeding taxable year, and the IRS page states you can carry forward any excess unused credit to reduce tax in future years. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit does not: the IRS page states you cannot apply any excess credit to future tax years, and the statute provides no carryforward.

Documentation

Claim both credits on Form 5695 attached to the income tax return. The Instructions for Form 5695 say you may rely on a manufacturer's certification in writing that a product is qualifying property, but do not attach the certification to the return — keep it for your records. For 25C items placed in service in 2025, report a valid QMID on the applicable lines. Home energy audits require a written report from a qualified home energy auditor that includes the auditor's name and tax identification number, an attestation of certification by a qualified certification program, and the program's name. Utility subsidies and qualifying purchase-price rebates reduce the expenses used to figure the credit; net metering payments for energy sold back to the grid do not. An allowed credit reduces the home's basis by the credit amount.

Conflicts between IRS pages

The IRS Residential Clean Energy Credit page contains an internal conflict. One paragraph states "The credit is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025," while a later paragraph on the same page states you can claim the annual credit "until the credit begins to phase out in 2033." The 2033 language is a leftover from the pre-OBBB statute, which phased the credit down to 26 percent in 2033 and 22 percent in 2034; the One Big Beautiful Bill Act struck those phase-down provisions and terminated the credit for expenditures made after December 31, 2025 (26 U.S.C. section 25D(h), as amended by P.L. 119-21). The IRS OBBB FAQs and the page's own opening sentence both state the December 31, 2025 end date. Consistent with the conflict protocol, we record both statements, identify the statute as the higher authority, and treat the termination as the rule; the conflict is flagged in the official source record and this guide carries a 30-day review interval. The IRS overview page (credits for 2022–2025 at 30 percent for 25D, 2023–2025 at 30 percent for 25C) is consistent with the termination dates and showed no material conflict with the detail pages.

Facts that could change the answer

• New federal legislation could revive, extend, or modify either credit; the IRS newsroom and credit pages are the place to watch.
• The separate section 30C credit for EV charging property continues through June 30, 2026, per the IRS OBBB FAQs, but is not a home-energy-improvement credit.
• State and utility incentives — including state-administered home energy rebate programs, whose federal tax treatment the IRS addressed in Announcement 2024-19 — do not replace the expired federal credits but can offset costs.
• Whether equipment meets the applicable efficiency certification (Energy Star, CEE highest tier, IECC) at the time of purchase or installation can change whether a 2025 installation qualifies.

Practical decision path

1. Determine when installation was completed, from dated invoices, permits, and inspection records.
2. If installation was completed on or before December 31, 2025, claim the credit on the 2025 return with Form 5695 (including any 25D carryforward), and check QMID requirements for 25C items.
3. If installation was completed after December 31, 2025, do not expect a 25C or 25D credit; check state and utility rebates, and consider section 30C for EV charging property before June 30, 2026.
4. Keep manufacturer certifications, the written audit report, and proof of payment and installation dates.
5. If you need help, see a tax professional before filing.

Records to keep

Keep the itemized invoices and contracts with installation-completion dates, manufacturer certifications in writing, the QMID for 2025 25C items, the home energy audit report, a copy of Form 5695 and any carryforward worksheet, and records of rebates, subsidies, and utility incentives.

When professional advice may help

A tax professional can confirm whether specific equipment qualifies, whether the placed-in-service or expenditure date is met, how rebates affect the credit, and how to claim or carry forward the credit on your return. Before work begins, obtain the written requirement from the tax authority or program administrator and keep the record.