Washington solar incentives come down to two things. Your utility credits the extra power your panels make at the full price you pay for power. And you pay no sales tax on the equipment. There is no state rebate and no tax credit. Both benefits have an end date, and the bill credit can close sooner at your utility. Open your utility below to see where it stands.
Recently changed: the end date written in Puget Sound Energy’s net metering rule has passed. The rule stays open until PSE has a replacement. Pacific Power’s request to end full credits for new applicants now carries the date February 1, 2027.
Washington’s solar benefits, and the date each one ends
Benefit | What it is worth | Who can use it | What ends it |
|---|---|---|---|
Each extra kWh takes 1 kWh off a later bill | Homes with almost any Washington utility | June 30, 2029, or sooner if your utility passes its cap | |
100% of state and local sales tax on the equipment | Buyers of a system of 1 kW to 100 kW | December 31, 2029 | |
$75 per kWh of battery size, up to $1,000 per battery, plus event payments | PSE customers with an eligible battery | No end date posted | |
$600 per kW of battery power, up to $3,000 | Pacific Power customers who own their home | No end date posted |
None of these is a rebate for the panels.
Which Washington utility sends your bill, and has it passed its cap?
The name is at the top of your electric bill. The cap is the point where state law stops requiring full credits for new solar homes.
Puget Sound Energy (PSE)Bellevue, Olympia, Bellingham and much of the Puget Sound area outside Seattle.Past the cap. Full credits continue by PSE’s choice.
What you can get with Puget Sound Energy (PSE)
- Bill credits for extra power1 kWh for 1 kWh
Each kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy later (net metering). Open to new applicants when last checked, on September 29, 2026.
- Battery sign-up payment$75 per kWh
Up to $1,000 per battery. See Flex Batteries.
Your bill credits
PSE is past the state cap: WSU counted it at 132.25% on January 31, 2026. State law no longer makes it accept new solar customers at full credit. PSE continues under its own tariff, the rule sheet a utility files with the state. That rule, Schedule 150, stays open until a replacement is ready. PSE says it will give notice before it closes.
Watch out: PSE has a second option, the Solar Energy Credit. It pays 6.713 cents per kWh for power you send out and cannot be combined with net metering. Check which one is on your application.
Seattle City LightSeattle and parts of nearby cities such as Burien, Shoreline, Tukwila and Renton.Full credits. Close to the cap, with changes being planned.
What you can get with Seattle City Light
- Bill credits for extra power13.38 cents per kWh
Each kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy later (net metering). City Light values each credit at your retail rate: 13.38 cents per kWh on the flat rate inside Seattle. Example: 100 extra kWh are worth $13.38.
Your bill credits
City Light had used 92.57% of its cap on January 31, 2026. It says it has begun planning the next phase of its net metering program. Its goal is at least six months of notice before any change takes effect.
Watch out: Before you sign, ask City Light which rule covers an application filed today.
Snohomish County PUDSnohomish County and Camano Island. PUD means public utility district.Full credits, kept in dollars. Not yet at the cap.
What you can get with Snohomish County PUD
- Bill credits for extra power10.613 cents per kWh
Your extra power becomes a dollar credit at your energy price, 10.613 cents per kWh since April 1, 2026. The PUD saves it for later bills. Example: 100 extra kWh add $10.61.
Your bill credits
The PUD had used 77.82% of its cap on January 31, 2026. Its schedule stays open to new solar homes until its board adopts a new rate.
Watch out: Credits cut only the energy part of your bill, not the daily base charge. Saved credits expire every March 31 with no payment.
Pacific PowerYakima, Walla Walla and nearby parts of south-central and southeast Washington.Past the cap. Has asked to end full credits for new applicants.
What you can get with Pacific Power
- Bill credits for extra power1 kWh for 1 kWh
Each kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy later (net metering). Open to new applicants when last checked, on September 29, 2026.
- Battery sign-up payment$600 per kW
Up to $3,000. See Wattsmart Battery.
Your bill credits
Pacific Power is past the cap: 115.42% on January 31, 2026. It has asked the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC), the state’s utility regulator, to close net metering to applications after February 1, 2027. Later applicants would get a smaller credit, based on avoided cost: what Pacific Power would pay to get that power elsewhere.
The case, Docket UE-250695, was still pending on October 1, 2026. Under the proposal, a complete application by February 1, 2027 keeps net metering for 25 years.
Watch out: The UTC can change or reject the proposal, so the date is not final.
Avista, Tacoma Power or another utilitySpokane, Tacoma, Clark County, and every other PUD, city utility and co-op.The state rule applies, unless your utility wrote its own.
What you can get with Avista, Tacoma Power or another utility
- Bill credits for extra power1 kWh for 1 kWh
Each kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy later (net metering). State law requires it from every utility that has not passed its cap.
Your bill credits
Avista, Clark County PUD and Tacoma Power were below the cap on January 31, 2026. See the cap table.
WSU lists Franklin PUD, Kittitas PUD and OPALCO, the San Juan County co-op, as no longer following the state credit rule. If one of them is yours, get the current credit in writing.
Watch out: Ask your utility to confirm its current rule before you sign. A public utility changes it by a vote of its own board.
The rules below apply to every Washington home.
How long will Washington utilities keep giving full credit?
Net metering, where each kWh you send to the grid cancels a kWh you buy later, is set by chapter 80.60 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW). It covers home systems up to 100 kW.
A utility must accept new net metering customers until June 30, 2029. The duty ends sooner if the utility’s net metering total reaches 4% of its 1996 peak demand. Peak demand is the most power its customers drew at one moment.
After that, a utility may write its own rate for new solar customers. A private utility needs approval from the state regulator. A public utility needs a vote of its own board.
Homes that are already in keep their credits. A utility must keep crediting a home that joined before the cutoff, as long as its interconnection agreement stays valid. That is the contract that lets your system connect to the grid.
| Utility | Share of its cap used | Rule for a new solar home today |
|---|---|---|
| Puget Sound Energy | 132.25% | Net metering, kept open by PSE’s own rule |
| Pacific Power | 115.42% | Net metering. A request to end it is pending. |
| Seattle City Light | 92.57% | Net metering. Next phase being planned. |
| Avista | 77.84% | No change reported to WSU |
| Snohomish County PUD | 77.82% | Net metering, credits kept in dollars |
| Clark County PUD | 63.61% | No change reported to WSU |
| Tacoma Power | 50.86% | No change reported to WSU |
Figures are for January 31, 2026, the latest that WSU has posted. 12 utilities were past the cap on that date.
What a lower rate can look like
PSE’s Solar Energy Credit, its option outside net metering, pays 6.713 cents per kWh. Example: 100 kWh sent to the grid earn $6.71. Snohomish County PUD pays solar generators outside net metering 3.83 cents to 4.605 cents per kWh in 2026, by month. Its home energy price is 10.613 cents per kWh.
Ask Washington installers to size the system to your own use
Your ZIP code starts a quote request with installers near you. Ask each one to match the system to your yearly use, so no credits are left at the spring reset.
- Your utility sets the clockEach utility is at a different point on the state cap.
- No sales tax in the priceA Washington quote should show the equipment with no sales tax.
- Shared only with matched installersYour details go to the installers you are matched with.
What happens to unused solar credits in Washington each spring?
State law clears your account once a year. On March 31, any kWh credits left from the past year go to the utility. You get no payment.
Example: a home saves 1,000 kWh over the summer and uses 800 kWh of them by March 31. It loses the other 200 kWh.
This is why size matters. A typical Washington system is 10.46 kW and costs $30,125 before incentives. A system that makes more than your home uses in a year costs more and earns nothing for the extra power.
How does Washington’s solar sales tax exemption work?
Washington charges no sales tax on home solar equipment. The exemption is 100% of state and local sales tax for a system that can make at least 1 kW and no more than 100 kW. The law is RCW 82.08.962. It runs through December 31, 2029.
Example: the state sales tax rate is 6.5%, and cities and counties add their own. On $10,000 of equipment, the state part alone would be $650.
- How you get it: give the seller a completed Buyers’ Retail Sales Tax Exemption Certificate for the equipment, and the installer one for the labor. If you were charged tax anyway, apply to the Department of Revenue for a refund.
- Labor: installation is exempt only when the installer meets the state’s list. It must be a registered contractor with industrial insurance and state tax and employment registrations, and have no final wage-and-hour violation orders in the past 24 months. The job must be finished by December 31, 2029.
- Batteries: the Department of Revenue’s rule, WAC 458-20-263, lists batteries among the qualifying equipment where solar is the main source of power. The rule says its list is not complete. For a battery bought with no solar system, ask the seller and the Department of Revenue before you assume it is exempt.
- State tax credit: none. The Department of Revenue says Washington does not currently have an individual income tax.
- Property tax: this exemption does not deal with property tax. Ask your county assessor how a solar system is treated.
Watch out: Check that every quote shows a price with no sales tax. If the installer does not meet the labor conditions, the labor is taxed.
Do PSE and Pacific Power pay for a home battery?
Yes. Washington has no statewide battery rebate. These two utility programs are the ones we could confirm.
PSE Flex Batteries
PSE pays $75 per kWh of battery size when you enroll, up to $1,000 per battery. Example: a 10 kWh battery gets $750. PSE then pays 50 cents for each kWh your battery sends out during Flex events, up to $500 per battery a year. A Flex event is a time when PSE draws on enrolled batteries to ease demand on the grid. It may do so up to 100 times a year.
You need a PSE smart meter and an eligible Enphase, FranklinWH, SolarEdge or Tesla battery. Solar is not required. Homes with a limited income or a registered medical device can get up to $10,000 off a first battery, and homes in areas with weak grid reliability up to $5,000. Ask PSE before you buy.
Watch out: You cannot join on a Time-of-Use plan: a plan where the price of power changes by the time of day.
Pacific Power Wattsmart Battery
Pacific Power pays $600 per kW of battery power when you enroll, up to $3,000 per home and 70% of the battery equipment cost. For a battery, kW is how much power it can give at one moment. Example: 5 kW of battery power gets $3,000. You commit for 4 years and let Pacific Power use the battery to steady the grid. From the second year you also get a bill credit of $15 per kW each year.
You must own the home, buy the battery and be on Pacific Power’s net metering schedule, Schedule 135. If you leave early, you pay back part of the payment.
Watch out: Pacific Power’s handout names Washington, but its program page listed only Oregon partner programs when it was checked. Get the Washington terms in writing before you buy.
Washington solar money you should not count on
- A yearly state payment for the power you make. Washington’s production payment program has been full since 2019. The law stopped new sign-ups after June 30, 2021.
- A tax credit. Washington does not currently have an individual income tax, so there is no state credit. The federal credit has ended.
- Free solar from Washington Solar for All. The state paused it after the federal government moved to end the grant on August 7, 2025. There is nothing to apply for.
- Full credits later, if you have not applied yet. PSE and Pacific Power are past the cap, and Seattle City Light is planning changes. Only an approved application fixes your rule.
Washington solar paperwork: certificate, application, approval
- Before you sign: ask your utility which rule applies today. Keep the answer with its date.You.
- At purchase: hand over the exemption certificate. One goes to the equipment seller and one to the installer. The contract price should have no sales tax.You fill it in. They keep it.
- Before the install: the utility application. Your installer applies for interconnection, the utility’s permission to connect, and for net metering. You sign the interconnection agreement.Your installer files. You sign.
- After the install: approval to switch on. The system passes its electrical inspection, then the utility gives final approval. A battery is enrolled in a utility program after this step.Your installer, with your utility.
- Each year: check your credit balance before March 31. If credits are left over every year, the system is larger than your use.You.
Compare Washington quotes while full credits are open
Enter your ZIP code to request quotes from installers in your area. Ask each one which credit rule your application would fall under.
The form asks about your home first, then your contact details. EcoGen or its installer partners may contact you.
- A quote request, nothing moreYour ZIP code starts a request for quotes. It does not file a utility application.
- Home questions firstYour name, email and phone come last.
- Free to compareQuotes cost nothing, and you never have to sign.
More Washington solar guides
Washington solar incentive questions
Does Washington Have a Solar Tax Credit?
No. The Department of Revenue says Washington does not currently have an individual income tax, so there is no state solar tax credit. The federal credit ended for systems switched on after December 31, 2025. The state’s tax help is a sales tax exemption through December 31, 2029.
Does Washington Have Net Metering?
Yes. Each kWh you send to the grid takes a kWh off a later bill. Utilities must offer it to new customers until June 30, 2029, or until the utility reaches 4% of its 1996 peak demand, whichever comes first.
Is PSE Net Metering Still Available?
It was open to new applicants when last checked, on September 29, 2026. PSE is past the state cap, so it continues by its own rule, Schedule 150. PSE says it will give notice before it closes. Confirm with PSE before you sign.
Do Solar Credits Expire in Washington?
Yes. Every March 31, unused kWh credits go to the utility with no payment. Size the system to what your home uses in a year.
Are Solar Panels Exempt From Sales Tax in Washington?
Yes. Equipment for a system of 1 kW to 100 kW is exempt from state and local sales tax through December 31, 2029, under RCW 82.08.962. Give the seller an exemption certificate. Labor is exempt only if the installer meets the state’s conditions.
Sources (20)
- Chapter 80.60 RCW, Net metering of electricity: app.leg.wa.gov
- WSU Energy Program, net metering progress by utility: energy.wsu.edu
- Washington UTC, Docket UE-250695, Pacific Power net billing: utc.wa.gov
- RCW 82.08.962, solar sales tax exemption: app.leg.wa.gov
- WAC 458-20-263, qualifying equipment: app.leg.wa.gov
- Washington Department of Revenue, tax incentive programs: dor.wa.gov
- Washington Department of Revenue, retail sales tax: dor.wa.gov
- Washington Department of Revenue, income tax: dor.wa.gov
- Puget Sound Energy, solar FAQ and Schedule 150: pse.com
- Puget Sound Energy, Schedule 667 Solar Energy Credit: pse.com
- Puget Sound Energy, Flex Batteries: pse.com
- Pacific Power, customer generation and Schedule 135: pacificpower.net
- Pacific Power, Wattsmart Battery handout: pacificpower.net
- Seattle City Light, solar and net metering: seattle.gov
- Seattle City Light, residential rates: seattle.gov
- Snohomish County PUD, electric rates: Schedules 7, 200 and 201: snopud.com
- Snohomish County PUD, solar and net metering: snopud.com
- Washington Department of Commerce, Solar for All: commerce.wa.gov
- WSU Energy Program, Renewable Energy System Incentive Program: energy.wsu.edu
- IRS, Residential Clean Energy Credit: irs.gov
