New York Solar Incentives (2026): A State Tax Credit, With the Rebates Closed

Which New York solar incentives are still open in 2026?

Six are open. Some apply across the state. Others depend on where you live or what you install.

The federal tax credit is $0 for systems switched on after December 31, 2025. Income-qualified homes on Long Island can also get $0.40 per watt through Affordable Solar.

How does the New York solar tax credit work?

New York gives you back 25% of what you spend on a home solar system, up to $5,000. Its full name is the Solar Energy System Equipment Credit. You claim it on Form IT-255 with your New York income tax return for the year your system is switched on.

Example: a typical 5.20 kW system costs $15,444. 25% of that is $3,861. If you can use the whole credit, the system costs you $11,583. The credit stops growing once your cost reaches $20,000.

This is a tax credit, not a rebate. It lowers the state income tax you owe. If you owe less than your credit in the first year, the rest moves to the next year. You have 5 years after the first year to use it up.

• Your main home only. The system must be on the home where you live most of the time. A summer or vacation home does not count.
• No refund. The state does not pay out credit you cannot use. Any credit left after the 5 years is lost.
• Leases and power contracts count. In a lease, a company owns the panels and you pay rent. In a power purchase agreement (PPA), a company owns the panels and you buy their power. Both earn the credit on your payments if the contract runs 10 years or more. No credit is allowed after the 15th year.
• Grants come off first. Costs paid with a tax-free grant do not count toward the credit. Neither do interest or loan fees.
• Your system must be connected. A system that makes electricity needs a net metering agreement with your utility before you can claim. Net metering is the bill credit for power you send to the grid.

Watch out: A quote that subtracts $5,000 on day one assumes you owe that much New York income tax. Look at the state tax on last year’s return before you count the full credit.

What does your New York utility credit, and what does it charge?

When your panels make more power than your home uses, the extra goes to the grid. Your utility counts it and gives you credit for it. This is called net metering. If you send out more than you take in a month, the leftover kWh credits move to your next bills.

Example: your panels send 100 kWh to the grid in July. You get 100 kWh of credit to use against the power you take from the grid later.

There is a cost. Homes that connect solar on or after January 1, 2022 pay a Customer Benefit Contribution (CBC). It is a fixed monthly charge for each kW of solar on your roof. It pays for the state’s low-income, energy efficiency and clean energy programs. It is set by the size of your system, not by how much power you use.

Example for Con Edison: a typical 5.20 kW system pays $6.71 a month, or about $80 a year.

On Long Island, a home system gets these credits only if it is 25 kW or smaller and no bigger than 110% of your last 12 months of use. If a city or village electric department sends your bill, ask it for its solar rules in writing before you size a system.

Watch out: The charge is not fixed for the life of your system. Utilities set a new one every year. Ask your installer to show it as a separate line in the savings estimate.

Does New York tax your solar panels?

Mostly no. The state takes its sales tax off, and state law keeps solar out of your property tax unless your local government opted out. Both have a local catch.

How much does New York pay toward a home battery?

NYSERDA, the state energy agency, pays a set amount for each kWh a home battery can hold, for up to 25 kWh. The money goes to your contractor, who takes it off your price. Only contractors in the NYSERDA storage program can apply, and they must apply before the battery is connected.

The money comes in blocks. When a block is used up, the next one pays less or the program stops in that region. Applications run through December 31, 2030, or until the money is gone.

• To get the incentive, you must enroll the battery in your utility’s battery program if National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E, Orange & Rockland or PSEG Long Island sends your bill. In these programs the utility draws power from your battery on a few hot summer days.
• The upstate programs pay you each year. National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E and Orange & Rockland pay $50 per kW of power your battery gives on average during those events. National Grid says its customers get about $250 a year.
• Con Edison has announced its own battery program. Ask Con Edison whether enrollment is open before you count on it.

The higher rate is for homes with income under 80% of the local median (the middle income in your area), and for homes in a neighborhood on the state’s disadvantaged communities list.

Watch out: The upstate block is running low and the Long Island block is nearly used up. Ask your contractor for the rate NYSERDA has confirmed for your project, in writing, before you sign.

Is the NY-Sun rebate still available?

For most homes, no. NY-Sun paid a set amount per watt of solar, in blocks. Each region’s blocks are now used up. No new block for homes is posted.

• Con Edison: closed on May 29, 2025. The income-based Affordable Solar block closed on October 15, 2025.
• Central Hudson and Orange & Rockland: closed on August 4, 2025.
• National Grid, NYSEG and RG&E: closed on December 17, 2025. Upstate Affordable Solar closed on March 9, 2026.
• Long Island: the standard rebate ended on April 17, 2016. Affordable Solar is still open.

You are unlikely to collect the New York money if

• You owe little New York income tax. The state credit only lowers tax you owe. What you cannot use in the first year and the 5 years after it is lost.
• The panels go on a second home or a rental you do not live in. The credit is for your main home only.
• Your lease or power contract runs less than 10 years. Shorter contracts earn no state credit.
• Your town, county or school district opted out of the property tax exemption. The added value is then taxed by that body. Check the state list, then ask your assessor.
• Your quote shows a NY-Sun rebate and you are not on Long Island. The Con Edison and upstate blocks are closed. Ask which block the installer means.
• Your quote still counts the federal tax credit. It is $0 for systems switched on after December 31, 2025. Ask for a new quote.
• Your battery contractor is not in the NYSERDA program, or the block runs out first. The battery incentive is first come, first served, and only a participating contractor can apply.

New York solar paperwork, from quote to tax return

1. Check your property tax status before you sign. Look up your town, county and school district on the state opt-out list. In New York City, ask about the city abatement instead.You, with your assessor.
2. Make sure no sales tax is on the invoice. The state part should be missing. Ask if your county charges its local part. If you buy equipment yourself, hand over Form ST-121.Your contractor. You, if you buy the equipment.
3. Adding a battery? The application comes first. Your contractor applies to NYSERDA before the battery is connected. Where your utility requires it, you then enroll the battery in its program.Your contractor, then you.
4. Get connected to the grid. Your installer files the connection request with your utility. Bill credits start once the utility gives permission to run the system.Your installer.
5. File Form RP-487 with your assessor. Do this after the install, outside New York City. In the city, the abatement application goes to the Department of Buildings.You. In New York City, ask your contractor who files.
6. Claim the credit at tax time. Add Form IT-255 to your New York return for the year the system was switched on. Keep your invoice. Carry any unused credit to the next year’s form.You or your tax preparer.

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