2026 Solar Incentives · Long Island, NY
Long Island Solar Incentives 2026 — what is left, and what it is worth.
The 30% federal residential credit ended on December 31, 2025. A typical $26,000 install in Huntington now nets to about $21,000 after the New York State credit. Here is what ended, what remains in 2026, and what we file on your behalf.
1. The federal credit: ended for systems you buy
Through 2025 the federal residential clean energy credit (Internal Revenue Code Section 25D) returned 30% of system cost. It ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. There is no phase-down and no replacement credit for a homeowner who buys with cash or a loan.
On a $26,000 install that credit was worth $7,800. In 2026 the federal line on a purchased system is $0 — if a quote shows otherwise, it is a 2025 document. Leases and PPAs are different: the company that owns the system may claim a separate commercial credit and can pass savings through in its rate, but you do not claim anything yourself. Confirm your own position with your tax professional.
2. New York State Solar Tax Credit (25%, capped at $5,000)
New York's own credit is unchanged: 25% of system cost, capped at $5,000 — on a $26,000 install you get the full $5,000 state credit. Filed via NY Form IT-255 with your state tax return.
Unused state credit rolls forward up to 5 years. This credit applies to roof-mounted residential solar; commercial systems use a different credit structure.
3. NYSERDA NY-Sun: exhausted for most Long Island homes
NY-Sun paid a per-watt rebate through your installer. The standard-income residential Megawatt Block for the Long Island region is exhausted, so a market-rate household should not expect a NY-Sun rebate on a 2026 quote.
Pathways for households at or below 80% of area median income remain open. If that may be you, check eligibility directly with NYSERDA before signing — and if a market-rate quote shows a NY-Sun line, ask which block it is drawing from.
4. NY State Sales Tax Exemption
Residential solar electric systems are exempt from New York State sales tax under Tax Law section 1115(ee). On a $26,000 install, that saves roughly $1,040 versus a typical 4% local rate — applied automatically at the time of sale by your installer.
5. Property Tax Exemption (15 years)
NY Real Property Tax Law section 487 provides a 15-year exemption from the added home value attributable to solar. Translation: installing solar will not raise your property assessment (and therefore not raise your school + property taxes) for 15 years.
Town of Huntington follows the section 487 exemption. Some Suffolk County municipalities require a one-page filing — your installer typically handles it. Estimated savings: $500–$1,500/year in avoided property tax depending on your tax rate.
6. PSEG Long Island Net Metering
PSEG Long Island runs full retail net metering for residential solar customers — every kWh your panels push to the grid offsets one kWh of nighttime consumption at full retail rate. This is not technically an "incentive" but it is what makes solar economically viable on Long Island.
PSEG also runs a Value of Distributed Energy Resources (VDER) compensation framework — the newer tariff. Most residential solar in Suffolk County opts for the legacy retail net metering tariff, which generally produces the better payback for a home-sized system.
7. Battery Storage Incentives
The federal residential credit that used to cover a purchased battery (Tesla Powerwall, Enphase IQ Battery) ended with the solar credit on December 31, 2025. A $14,000 Powerwall 3 bought in 2026 gets no federal credit.
NYSERDA has run a residential battery incentive paid per kWh of storage. Funding is limited and changes, so we confirm what is open at quote time rather than assume it. Price a battery on outage coverage — keeping the well pump, refrigerator and heat running — not on incentive math.
Worked example — 8 kW Huntington install, 2026
Gross install cost: $26,000 (sales tax exemption already reflected in the price).
- Federal credit on a purchased system: $0 (ended December 31, 2025).
- NY State 25% credit (capped): −$5,000.
- NYSERDA NY-Sun: $0 for a standard-income household.
- 15-year property tax exemption: the system does not raise your assessment.
Net out-of-pocket: about $21,000. Assuming PSEG's effective rate of ~$0.27/kWh and ~10,400 kWh/year of production, that is about $2,800 a year in displaced electricity and a simple payback of roughly 7.5 years. The same install in 2025 netted about $11,200 and paid back in about 4 years; the difference is the expired federal credit and the exhausted rebate block. Call the realistic 2026 range 7–9 years.
What we file for you
When you sign with us, the following are filed on your behalf at no additional cost:
- NYSERDA income-qualified NY-Sun application, where you are eligible
- NY State sales tax exemption (applied automatically at contract)
- NY State property tax exemption filing (where required by municipality)
- PSEG Long Island interconnection application and net metering tariff selection
- Town of Huntington Building Department + Suffolk County electrical permits
- Final placed-in-service cost letter for your NY State Form IT-255 filing
Frequently asked: 2026 Long Island solar incentives
- Is there a federal solar tax credit in 2026?
- Not for a homeowner who buys a system. The 30% federal residential clean energy credit (Internal Revenue Code Section 25D) ended for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, with no phase-down. A 2026 cash or loan purchase gets no federal credit. Confirm your own situation with your tax professional.
- Does New York have its own solar tax credit?
- Yes, and it is unchanged. The New York State residential solar credit (Tax Law 606(g-1)) covers 25% of system cost, capped at $5,000, as a credit against your NY State income tax. Unused credit carries forward up to 5 years.
- What happened to the NYSERDA NY-Sun rebate?
- The standard-income residential NY-Sun Megawatt Block for the Long Island region is exhausted, so a market-rate household should not expect a per-watt rebate in 2026. Pathways for households at or below 80% of area median income remain open — check your eligibility directly with NYSERDA before signing.
- Can a lease or PPA still capture federal money?
- Indirectly. With a lease or PPA the company that owns the system — not the homeowner — may claim a separate commercial credit, and it can pass some of that saving through in the rate. You do not claim a federal credit yourself, and no amount is guaranteed. Compare the 20-year total against owning.
- Is solar exempt from sales tax in NY?
- Yes. Residential solar electric systems are exempt from New York State sales tax. On a $26,000 install, that saves roughly $1,000 in sales tax versus a typical 4% local rate.
- Are solar panels exempt from property tax in NY?
- New York Real Property Tax Law section 487 provides a 15-year property tax exemption for the added home value from solar — meaning your assessment does not go up when you install solar. Town of Huntington follows this exemption. Some Suffolk County municipalities require a one-page filing; your installer typically handles it.
- How do I claim the New York solar credit?
- File NY Form IT-255 with your state tax return for the year the system is placed in service. Your installer provides the placed-in-service date and final cost letter. There is no federal form to file for a system purchased in 2026. Confirm with your tax professional.
Your specific incentive math
Get your exact 2026 numbers.
Send us a recent LIPA bill and we will send back a numbered quote: gross install, every incentive applied line-by-line, net out-of-pocket, and your projected payback year.
Or call: (631) 759-8716