The 2026 rebate reset: Austin home-energy incentives that still work

If you have been putting off a heat pump, new insulation, or solar, the rules changed underneath you on January 1, 2026 — and most of the advice still online is now wrong. The big federal tax credits are gone. The good news for an Austin homeowner: the money that mattered most locally is still here, it just comes from Austin Energy and state-run rebates instead of a line on your tax return.

Here is what actually applies in 2026, with the numbers, so you can plan a project around what is real today rather than what was true last year.

What expired: the federal 25C and 25D tax credits

Two federal credits did the heavy lifting for home energy upgrades for years. Both ended for anything installed after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act:

• Section 25C, the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit — up to about $2,000 toward a qualifying heat pump, plus smaller amounts for insulation, doors, and windows.
• Section 25D, the Residential Clean Energy Credit — the 30% credit that covered solar, battery storage, and geothermal.

Per current summaries of the law, installs in 2026 are not eligible for either credit. If you read a guide that still tells you to "claim the 25C credit" for a 2026 project, it is describing a program that no longer exists for this tax year. Always confirm your own situation with a tax professional, but the headline is simple: the federal tax-credit door closed at the end of 2025.

What still works in 2026

The credits are gone. The rebates are not. These pay at or near the point of purchase, so for many households they are actually simpler than a credit you wait to claim.

Austin Energy rebates (available to Austin Energy customers)

Austin Energy runs some of the strongest utility rebates in Texas, and they were not affected by the federal change. As of 2026, its residential offerings include:

• Heat pump / efficient AC — a rebate that can reach up to about $3,000, often paired with 0% financing when you use a participating contractor.
• Solar — a $2,500 rebate after you complete Austin Energy's free solar education course and install a qualifying system.
• Insulation and duct sealing — up to about $1,800 combined.
• Whole-home weatherization — rebates averaging around $3,000 plus 0% financing on qualifying improvements, with deeper assistance for income-qualified households.

Exact amounts, eligibility, and the list of participating contractors change over time, so confirm the current terms on Austin Energy's rebate pages before you sign anything.

State rebates: HEAR / HEEHRA

Separate from the tax credits, the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR/HEEHRA) program is funded through money already sent to state energy offices as grants — which is why it survived when the tax credits did not. It is income-qualified and administered by the state, and where available it can cover:

Because HEAR is income-based and rolls out on a state timeline, availability and the application path vary. Treat these figures as the program caps, not a promise for every household, and check your state energy office for current status.

How to stack them: an order of operations

Rebates reward doing things in the right sequence. A rough order that tends to pay off for an Austin home:

1. Seal and insulate first. Air sealing, attic insulation, and duct sealing lower the size — and cost — of everything you install next, and they have their own Austin Energy and HEAR rebates.
2. Right-size the electrical panel if you are heading toward electrification. A panel rebate exists precisely because it is often the hidden prerequisite.
3. Replace the biggest energy user. In Austin's climate that is usually cooling — a heat pump can stack an Austin Energy rebate with a state HEAR rebate for eligible households.
4. Add solar last, once your home's load is smaller, so you are sizing a system to an efficient house rather than a leaky one.

The watch-outs

• Verify current terms before you commit. Utility and state programs adjust amounts, eligibility, and contractor lists during the year. The number you saw six months ago may not be the number today.
• Participating contractors matter. Many rebates only pay when the work is done by a contractor enrolled in the program. Ask before the job, not after.
• Rebates are not a project price. They reduce what you owe; they do not tell you what the full job costs or whether a bid is fair. That is a separate question — and the one where a clear, itemized starting number helps most.

Where Completa fits

Incentives change every year. What does not change is the value of walking into the project knowing the real, itemized number before you talk price with a contractor.

That is what Completa is built for. You answer a few plain questions about the work, and Completa produces an itemized starting estimate from what you enter — materials, labor, and the scope factors that move the number — for Austin homes. A contractor then reviews that scope and price and may confirm or adjust it before any work agreement is signed. When you subtract a rebate, you are subtracting it from a number you can actually see and check, not from a mystery.

Know the scope, see the starting price, then let the rebate do its work — in that order.