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Ohio Solar Incentives & Tax Credits (2026)

This page is kept current because the rules changed significantly for 2026 — a lot of solar content online still hasn’t been updated to reflect it.

The federal 30% tax credit has ended for homeowner-owned systems

The federal residential solar tax credit (Section 25D of the U.S. tax code) let homeowners who bought or financed a system with a loan claim 30% of the cost back on their federal taxes. Under a law passed in July 2025 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), that credit dropped to 0% for customer-owned residential systems placed in service on or after January 1, 2026 — with no phase-down period. If you’re comparing quotes in 2026 and a salesperson mentions “the 30% federal credit” for a system you’d own outright, ask them to confirm that in writing; as of this update, it no longer applies to owned systems.

Leases and PPAs may still connect to a tax credit

Third-party-owned systems — solar leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs), where a company owns the panels on your roof and you pay for the electricity or a fixed lease fee — can still be linked to a separate, commercial-side tax credit (Section 48E), provided the system’s construction starts before July 2026 or it’s placed in service by 2028. The credit in that case belongs to the system owner (the leasing company), who may or may not pass part of the value on to you through your rate. Ask any provider offering a lease or PPA to explain, specifically, whether and how that applies to your contract.

Ohio state-level incentives

Ohio does not have its own state income tax credit for solar. Two statewide breaks do apply to qualifying residential solar:

Sales tax exemption on qualifying solar equipment purchases.
Property tax exemption on the added home value from the solar installation, so your property tax assessment shouldn’t increase because of the system.

We don’t have a verified dollar figure for what these two exemptions are worth in a typical case — the value depends on your local property tax rate and your system’s cost, so ask your provider or county auditor for a number specific to your situation rather than relying on a generic estimate.

Net metering: paid at “avoided cost,” not full retail

Ohio’s net metering rules changed under House Bill 6 (2019), which allows the state’s three large investor-owned utilities — AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, and the FirstEnergy companies (Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company, Toledo Edison) — to credit solar owners for excess power sent to the grid at an “avoided cost” rate, which is lower than the retail rate you pay for electricity you use. As of this update, that avoided-cost rate has generally run in the range of a few cents per kWh, well below typical retail rates. A restoration of full retail-rate net metering has been discussed at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) but was not enacted as of early 2026 — this is worth re-checking, since it directly affects how fast a system pays for itself. See our utility-specific breakdowns:

What this means practically

Solar can still make financial sense for some Ohio homeowners — but the math in 2026 is different than it was even a year earlier, mainly because of the federal credit change above. Get a specific, written breakdown from any provider that shows the real numbers for your home, with and without financing costs, rather than relying on a general percentage-off figure.

Sources referenced for this page: Congress.gov (CRS report IN12611) on the residential clean energy credit; Ohio House Bill 6 (2019) and subsequent PUCO proceedings on net metering. Rules in this area are actively evolving — this page reflects our understanding as of the update date and should not be treated as tax or legal advice.

See What Solar Costs at Your Address

Figures on this page are general. The only way to know what solar costs on your roof in Ohio is a quote based on your address, your roof and your actual power use.

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