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How to sell solar without the 30% tax credit
The 30% homeowner tax credit (Section 25D) ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025, per IRS Fact Sheet 2025-05. So don't open with incentives. Open with the homeowner's own bill, ask whether outages matter to them, and ask how they'd want to pay. Here's the opener, word for word, and the answer to “I heard the credit's gone.”
Written for reps by Damien Day: 5+ years in solar, from door-to-door and setting to closing and training sales teams. Founder of The Day Company LLC.
Updated October 2026
What changed, and when
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D) isn't allowed for expenses made after December 31, 2025. The IRS counts the expense as made when installation is completed, so a system installed in 2026 doesn't qualify, even if it was paid for in 2025 (IRS Fact Sheet 2025-05, August 2025).
| The deal | What to know |
|---|---|
| Homeowner owns it (cash or loan) | No federal 30% credit for systems installed after December 31, 2025. |
| Lease or PPA (the company owns it) | The company follows business-credit rules with their own deadlines. Explain only what your company has approved in writing. |
| Electric rates | The average U.S. home rate went from 16.5¢ per kWh in 2024 to 17.2¢ in 2025, and EIA forecasts about 18.2¢ for 2026 (EIA, October 2026). Local rates vary a lot. |
Why the old opener costs you the door
Homeowners have read the headlines. If your first line leans on a credit that's gone, they stop trusting the next thing you say. You lose the deal, and the referral with it.
| Old opener | Say this instead | Why |
|---|---|---|
| “The government pays 30% of your system.” | “Has your bill gone up in the last few years, or is it about the same?” | It's true, and it's about them. |
| “This program ends soon.” | “If it doesn't make sense for your home, I'll tell you.” | No fake deadline. Trust goes up. |
| “You'll save $200 a month.” | “Let's look at your actual bill and see if it's worth doing.” | Estimates come from the proposal, not the porch. |
The new pitch: Bill, Backup, Budget
Three questions that need no incentive. Each one is about the homeowner, so each answer tells you what to show them next.
| Part | What it's about | The question you ask |
|---|---|---|
| Bill | A cost they don't control, set by the utility and its regulators, or by their supplier where they can choose one. | Has your bill gone up in the last few years, or is it about the same? |
| Backup | Whether outages matter to them. A battery can keep key circuits running, depending on the design. | When the power goes out here, what's the biggest headache for you? |
| Budget | How they'd want to pay: cash, loan, lease or PPA, or nothing at all. | If you could choose, would you rather own it outright, pay it off over time, or just pay for the power? |
Then say the fit check out loud. Shade, an old roof, a move coming up or a low bill can each make it a no. Saying so is the biggest trust builder you have.
The opener, word for word
- You
The 30% tax credit ended after 2025, so I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here because electric rates in [area] have gone from [old rate] to [current rate] in [years], according to [source]. What we do is look at your actual bill, see if solar or a battery makes sense for your home, and if it does, show you the options in plain numbers. If it doesn't make sense, I'll tell you.
Fill the brackets with real, published numbers and the date. No local history? Use EIA's state average and say that's what it is.
- [area]: your town or your utility's territory.
- [old rate] and [current rate]: from your utility's published rate history or your state regulator, with the years.
- [source]: say who published it, out loud: “according to [utility]'s rate history.”
Knocking doors with it? The solar door-to-door script shows how to open, survey and set from there.
What to stop saying
- “The government pays 30%.” Not for a homeowner-owned system installed after 2025.
- “Free solar,” or “no cost to you.”
- “Rates will double.”
- “Your bill goes to $0,” unless it's a labeled estimate from the approved proposal.
- “This price is only good today,” or any deadline that isn't real and in writing.
- “You'll get a tax credit,” unless your company has confirmed one in writing for that homeowner.
Sales training, not tax advice. Send tax questions to the homeowner's tax professional, and follow your company's approved scripts and disclosures.
Free: the 10 objections you're hearing now, on one page. A short, true answer and a next step for each, plus a commission calculator.
Get the free cheat sheetWhen they say “I heard the tax credit is gone”
Every rep hears it now. Agree with what's true, then let the math stand on its own. Four beats: acknowledge, ask, answer, advance.
“I heard the tax credit is gone.”
Objection 1 of 20- Acknowledge
You heard right. The 30% federal credit ended for systems installed after December 31, 2025.
- Ask
Was the credit the main reason you'd have looked at solar, or was it the bill?
- Answer
Without the credit, the math has to stand on its own: your bill, your rate, the financing and any backup value. For some homes it still works and for some it doesn't. That's what we check. Also, with a lease or PPA, the company owns the system and different rules apply. I can show you that option too.
- Advance
Want me to run your bill so you can see either way?
Word for word from the No-Credit Close, Part 3 (objection 1 of 20).
- Acknowledge ends the argument before it starts, because you agree with the true part.
- Ask finds out whether the credit was their reason, or just the headline.
- Answer puts the math out loud, with no promise either way.
- Advance asks for one small yes you can act on tonight: running the bill.
More objections, answered the same way: solar sales objections and rebuttals.
For managers: retrain the team in one huddle
Fifteen minutes, before anyone heads out.
- Facts, 3 minutes. Read the credit line from IRS Fact Sheet 2025-05 out loud. Then the rule: if you lead with an incentive that's gone, you lose the deal and the referral.
- Bill, Backup, Budget, 5 minutes. Fill in your utility, current rate and rate history together, with the source.
- Pairs drill, 7 minutes. One rep plays the homeowner, one runs the opener. Three rounds each, then switch.
- Homework. Say the opener out loud five times before the next huddle.
The No-Credit Close's 4-week rollout takes it from there: objections 1 to 10, then 11 to 20 and the leave-behind, then certification. Starting reps from scratch? See how to train new solar sales reps.
Questions
Is the solar tax credit gone for everyone?
The homeowner credit (Section 25D) is, for systems installed after December 31, 2025. With a lease or PPA, the company owns the system and follows business-credit rules with their own deadlines. Explain only what your company has approved in writing.
What if the homeowner paid in 2025 but the install finished in 2026?
The IRS counts the expense when installation is completed, so a system installed in 2026 doesn't qualify for the 25D credit, even if it was paid for in 2025 (IRS Fact Sheet 2025-05). Send tax questions to the homeowner's tax professional.
What should I lead with now?
The homeowner's own bill. Ask whether it has gone up, whether outages matter to them, and how they'd want to pay. Then check, out loud, whether solar fits the home at all.
Can I still mention state or utility incentives?
Only real, current programs your company has confirmed in writing, by name and with the date. Never say the government pays for anything.