Solar incentives
California Solar Incentives: What's Left, What Ended, and What You Can Claim
The federal tax credit is gone and most state rebates have closed. Here's what California homeowners can still use, program by program, including which incentives work if you install the system yourself.
The Short Answer
Is There Still a Solar Tax Credit in California?
No. The 30% federal residential clean energy credit ended for homeowner-owned systems completed after December 31, 2025. The IRS treats the cost as spent when installation is completed, so a deposit paid in 2025 doesn't count if the system was finished in 2026.
If your system was completed in 2025 or earlier, you can still carry any unused credit forward to later tax years.
California doesn't have a state solar income tax credit, and it doesn't offer a sales tax exemption for home solar or batteries.
Leases and power purchase agreements work differently. The company that owns the system may still claim a federal credit and pass some of it on through lower payments. If you plan to own your system, that doesn't apply to you.
Source: IRS, residential clean energy credit FAQs (FS-2025-05).
California Solar Incentives at a Glance
Status as of October 15, 2026. Programs change, so confirm with the program or your utility before you buy equipment.
| Program | Who it's for | Status | Self-installed systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal tax credit (25D) | Homeowners who own their system | Ended for systems completed after Dec 31, 2025 | Not applicable |
| Net Billing (NEM 3.0) | PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers | In effect | Needs a permitted system and utility approval to connect |
| Property tax exclusion (Section 73) | Homeowners adding solar | For systems completed before Jan 1, 2027 | The law doesn't depend on who installs |
| SGIP battery incentive | Mostly income-qualified customers | General budgets closed Dec 30, 2025; equity budgets mostly waitlisted | Requires a CSLB-licensed contractor |
| SMUD battery incentive | SMUD customers | Open | No installer rule stated; confirm with SMUD |
| Riverside battery rebate | Riverside Public Utilities customers | Open, subject to funds | No installer rule stated; confirm with Riverside |
| Pasadena solar and battery pilot | Pasadena Water and Power customers | Pilot launched April 2026 | No installer rule stated; confirm with Pasadena |
| Anaheim battery rebate | Anaheim customers with existing solar | Open | Requires a licensed contractor |
| LADWP | LADWP customers | No upfront rebate | Not applicable |
| DAC-SASH and other income-qualified programs | Income-qualified households | Varies by program | Delivered through program installers |
| Solar for All | Income-qualified households | No homeowner applications open | Delivered through program partners |
How Your Solar Power Is Valued Now
Most people still judge solar by the rebate. In California, the bigger factor now is what your utility credits you for the power you don't use.
If you're a PG&E, SCE or SDG&E customer, a new system goes on Net Billing, often called NEM 3.0. Power you send to the grid earns much less than the power you buy from it. So the value of solar now comes from using your own power, not from exporting it.
That's why batteries matter more in California than they used to. A battery stores midday solar for the evening, when you'd otherwise buy power from the grid.
What this means for you: size the system around your own usage, and decide early whether a battery belongs in the design.
PG&E and SCE: The ACC Plus Export Adder
PG&E and SCE customers whose systems get permission to operate by December 31, 2027 receive a small extra credit on exported power, locked in for nine years. For a system that starts in 2026, it's 0.88 cents per kWh on PG&E and 1.6 cents per kWh on SCE. It drops each year and ends for new customers after 2027.
It isn't available for new homes where Title 24 requires solar, or to buyers of a home that already has a system.
City-Owned Utilities
Municipal utilities such as LADWP and SMUD set their own rules. LADWP never adopted Net Billing. If you're served by a city-owned utility, check its solar page for current terms.
California's Solar Property Tax Exclusion (Section 73)
Adding solar generally won't raise your property taxes, as long as the system is completed before January 1, 2027.
Under Section 73 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, a qualifying solar system isn't added to your home's assessed value. If you're adding solar to an existing home, there's no form to file. Batteries count when they're part of the solar system.
The January 1, 2027 Deadline
The exclusion covers systems completed before January 1, 2027. Official guidance doesn't spell out which milestone counts as completed (for example, final inspection or utility permission to operate), and your county assessor makes that call. If you're close to the deadline, ask your assessor.
Systems already excluded stay excluded until the home sells. Systems completed on or after January 1, 2027 won't get the exclusion unless the law changes.
Does It Matter Who Installs the System?
The law doesn't make the exclusion depend on who installs the system. What matters is a qualifying solar system completed before the deadline.
For more detail, including what the deadline means for projects in progress, see our guide to California's solar property tax exclusion.
Source: California Board of Equalization, Active Solar Energy System Exclusion.
Utility Battery Rebates
Most of the cash still available comes from city-owned utilities, and most of it is for batteries. Each program has its own rules, and some require a licensed contractor.
SMUD
$300 per kWh of battery capacity, up to $6,000, for interconnection applications received on or after September 23, 2026. You need to be on SMUD's Solar and Storage Rate, enroll within 90 days of permission to operate, and use an approved battery brand (Eguana, Enphase, Franklin, SolarEdge, Sonnen or Tesla). SMUD doesn't state an installer rule, so confirm with SMUD before you buy.
Riverside Public Utilities
$500 per kWh, up to $10,000, for batteries bought on or after July 1, 2026. Income-qualified customers in Riverside's SHARE program can receive $850 per kWh, up to $17,000. You'll need a final permit inspection, paid receipts and a time-of-use rate. Homes that began construction on or after January 1, 2026 aren't eligible, and rebates depend on available funds. Riverside doesn't state an installer rule.
Pasadena Water and Power
A pilot launched in April 2026 pays $0.60 per watt for solar ($1.00 per watt for income-qualified customers) and up to $550 per kWh for batteries. Pasadena Water and Power also waives its own plan review and inspection fees during the pilot. Other city fees may still apply.
Anaheim Public Utilities
Up to $1,500 for a battery of at least 5 kWh added to an existing solar system, with a time-of-use rate and the MyPower Savings program for 12 months. Anaheim's program terms require a contractor licensed in California.
LADWP
LADWP doesn't offer an upfront solar rebate. Its solar incentive program closed to new applications in 2018.
Is SGIP Still Available?
Mostly not. SGIP's general budgets closed to new applications on December 30, 2025. What's left is for income-qualified customers, and most of those budgets are waitlisted or awarded by lottery. Applications to those budgets are accepted through June 30, 2028.
SGIP requires the system to be installed by a contractor with an active California (CSLB) license, so a fully self-installed system won't qualify. If you're income-qualified and considering SGIP, confirm installer requirements with your program administrator before you start.
Income-Qualified Programs
Programs that cover most of the cost are for income-qualified households, and they're delivered through each program's own installers or partners.
- DAC-SASH: for income-qualified homeowners in disadvantaged communities, installed through the program.
- CARE and FERA: bill discounts for income-qualified households.
- Community solar and green tariff programs: bill discounts for income-qualified customers who can't put panels on their own roof.
- Solar for All: California's share of a federal program, about $250 million, mostly for community solar. The EPA cancelled it in 2025, and a federal court reversed that cancellation in September 2026. As of October 15, 2026, no homeowner applications are open.
If an offer suggests the state will cover your system, look the program up on your utility's or the CPUC's website before you sign anything.
Building an ADU or a New Home?
Title 24 requires solar on most new low-rise homes, including many detached ADUs. That's a requirement, not an incentive, and some incentives work differently for these projects:
- The ACC Plus export adder isn't available where Title 24 requires solar.
- Riverside's battery rebate excludes homes that began construction on or after January 1, 2026.
- Section 73 covers owner-builders who include solar in the initial construction of a new building.
If You Install It Yourself
Without the federal credit, the cost of the system itself matters more. With guided self-install, you do the parts of the work you can handle, and we help with the parts that have to be right.
Incentives treat self-installed systems differently. The property tax exclusion doesn't depend on who installs. SGIP and Anaheim's rebate require a licensed contractor. Other utility programs don't say, so ask before you buy. Some work may also need a licensed electrician, depending on your city, county and utility.
What We Help With
- System design for your property and usage, including whether a battery fits
- Permit-ready plan sets, stamped where required
- Permit submission and responses to plan review comments
- Inspection prep
- Utility interconnection paperwork through to permission to operate
Our customers' projects have a 97% permit approval rate. That's a rate, not a guarantee: your permit office and utility make the final call.
Questions people actually ask
Straight answers, sourced from real searches.
Yes, but fewer. The main statewide battery rebate, SGIP, has closed to most applicants, so most remaining cash rebates come from city-owned utilities such as SMUD, Riverside, Pasadena and Anaheim, and most are for batteries. Statewide, the lasting benefits are net billing and the property tax exclusion for systems completed before January 1, 2027.
No. The 30% federal credit ended for homeowner-owned systems completed after December 31, 2025, and California has no state solar income tax credit. If your system was completed in 2025 or earlier, you can carry unused credit forward. Leases and power purchase agreements may still pass a federal credit through to you as lower payments.
It depends on your usage, your utility and whether a battery fits your home. Under Net Billing, solar earns most of its value by covering your own usage, not by exporting power, so a system sized to your home matters more than it used to. The estimator shows what a system would cost for your address and usage.
Some programs require one. SGIP and Anaheim's battery rebate do. The Section 73 property tax exclusion doesn't depend on who installs the system. SMUD, Riverside and Pasadena don't state a rule, so ask before you buy. Separately, local rules may require a licensed electrician for some of the work.
It ends. The exclusion lasts until the home changes ownership, and the buyer doesn't inherit it. Buyers of a home that already has solar also can't get the ACC Plus export adder.
Solar covers your usage while it's producing. At night you buy power from the grid, and under Net Billing the power you exported during the day earns much less than you pay for grid power. A battery lets you use more of your own solar in the evening.
Not for most homeowners. Programs that cover most of the cost, such as DAC-SASH, are for income-qualified households and are delivered through the programs' own installers. Solar for All has no homeowner applications open as of October 15, 2026.