California Solar Incentives 2026: What's Left After SGIP, NEM 3.0 and the Property-Tax Deadline

California solar incentives in 2026: a property-tax exclusion for systems completed before January 1, 2027, Net Billing Tariff export credits locked for nine years, a small ACC Plus adder in PG&E and SCE territory, and two income-qualified programs — SGIP's Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget and DAC-SASH — that can cover most or all of a system.

What California does not have in 2026: a state solar tax credit or a sales-tax exemption. The 30% federal residential credit is also gone for installs completed after December 31, 2025.

That is a shorter list than most California solar pages suggest, and 2026 is the year it got shorter. The SGIP battery rebate that middle-income households used for years closed to new applications on December 30, 2025. The property-tax exclusion sunsets on January 1, 2027, and the bill to extend it (AB 2389) died in committee in May 2026. Below is what each remaining program is actually worth, who receives the money, and the five lines to check in a California quote before you sign.

California solar incentives 2026 at a glance

Does solar raise property taxes in California in 2026 and 2027?

Not in 2026, and not for as long as you own the home if the system is completed before January 1, 2027; a system finished on or after that date will, under current law. Since 1980 (with a lapse in the late 1990s) California has treated an "active solar energy system" as not being "new construction" for property-tax purposes (Revenue and Taxation Code §73). Your home is not reassessed for the panels, so a $25,000 system adds nothing to the bill that Proposition 13 already caps. If an assessor valued that system at cost, at a typical ~1.1% total rate the exclusion is worth roughly $275 a year — small next to the electricity savings, but it compounds for as long as you own the house.

The exclusion has always had a sunset, and the current one is January 1, 2027. Senate Bill 710, signed October 3, 2025, did not extend it; it wrote into the statute that systems which qualify before that date keep the exclusion until the property changes hands. The bill that would have extended the exclusion for new customer-sited systems of 10 kW or less (AB 2389, per the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee's April 2026 analysis, through the 2030 lien dates) was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file on May 14, 2026 — dead for this session.

What "qualify before January 1, 2027" means, per the Board of Equalization's guidance to county assessors (LTA 2024/031): a system completed on any day before January 1, 2027 is excluded. Construction still in progress on January 1, 2027 is assessable (only whatever was already in place on January 1, 2026 stays excluded — which does not help anyone signing in 2026). So for a homeowner signing in the second half of 2026, the practical rule is: the system needs to be finished and ready for use — not just contracted or permitted — in 2026. Ask the installer for a completion date in writing and make sure the schedule has room for permitting and utility permission-to-operate delays, which in some California jurisdictions run months.

If the Legislature revives the extension in 2027 this becomes moot. As of this writing it has not, and a 2027 installation would be added to your assessed value at the assessor's estimate of the system's contribution to market value.

How does net billing (NEM 3.0) work in California in 2026?

Every residential customer of PG&E, SCE or SDG&E who applied for interconnection on or after April 15, 2023 is on the Net Billing Tariff (NBT) — the successor to net energy metering (NEM), which the utilities market as the "Solar Billing Plan" and everyone else calls NEM 3.0. The rules that matter, from California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Decision 22-12-056 and Resolution E-5301 (full walkthrough in our California NEM 3.0 guide):

• Exports are credited at avoided cost, not the retail rate. The credit for each kilowatt-hour you send to the grid comes from the CPUC's Avoided Cost Calculator (ACC) — 576 different values, one for every month, hour and weekday/weekend combination. Most daytime hours are worth a few cents; a handful of hot late-summer evening hours are worth many times that. Blended across a year, exports come out to a small fraction of the retail import rate; the exact value depends on your utility's schedule for your interconnection year. That gap is why California payback math now depends on how much you self-consume, and why batteries pay here in a way they do not in most states — see our NEM 3.0 battery-sizing guide.
• Your export rates are locked for nine years from interconnection. A 2026 interconnection locks a known nine-year schedule of hourly export values (from the ACC in force on January 1, 2026) through 2035, so a later ACC update cannot cut what your exports are worth. That lock exists only for customers enrolling through December 31, 2027; the decision says customers enrolling after the five-year glide path "will not receive a lock-in period for Avoided Cost Calculator values."
• You must move to an electrification time-of-use rate: E-ELEC at PG&E, TOU-D-PRIME at SCE, EV-TOU-5 at SDG&E (or a critical-peak/peak-day pricing rate). Your quote's savings estimate should be modelled on that rate, not on the tiered rate you are on today.
• Sizing is capped at 150% of your prior-year usage (you can oversize by up to 50% with an attestation about planned electrification, such as an EV or heat pump).
• The interconnection application is not complete without a signed contract, a single-line diagram, the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Solar Energy System Disclosure Document, and a signed California Solar Consumer Protection Guide. If an installer has not walked you through that guide, that is a process problem before it is a pricing one.

Customers on NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 keep their retail-rate net metering for 20 years from their original interconnection. AB 942, the 2025 bill that as introduced would have cut legacy contracts to 10 years and moved them to net billing when a home is sold, was amended in the Senate and then stalled in the Senate Rules Committee in August 2025; no version has become law. A home you buy with an existing NEM 2.0 system stays on NEM 2.0 for the remainder of its 20 years. If the seller was on net billing, though, you do not inherit their nine-year export-rate lock — the CPUC tied the legacy period to the original customer, not the system (spouses and domestic partners excepted) — and the buyer of a home with an existing system is not eligible for the ACC Plus adder below.

What is the ACC Plus adder and how much is it worth in 2026?

To keep payback under about nine years during the transition, the CPUC added a fixed cents-per-kWh "ACC Plus" adder on top of the avoided-cost export credit for PG&E and SCE residential customers (SDG&E was judged to pay back fast enough without one). The adder is fixed for nine years from your interconnection date, but the starting value steps down 20% for each calendar year of enrollment:

• PG&E: $0.022 per exported kWh for 2023 enrollments → about $0.0088 for 2026 enrollments → about $0.0044 in 2027 → zero after.
• SCE: $0.040 → about $0.016 for 2026 → about $0.008 in 2027 → zero after.
• Low-income households (CARE or FERA enrollment, resident-owners in a CalEnviroScreen disadvantaged community, or homes in California Indian Country): $0.090 (PG&E) / $0.093 (SCE) at the start → about $0.036 / $0.037 for 2026 enrollments.

On a home system exporting, say, 5,000–6,000 kWh a year, the 2026 standard adder is worth roughly $45–$100 a year — real, but not something a quote should lean on. The low-income adder is worth roughly $180–$220 a year at either utility — about four times the standard adder at PG&E, a bit over double at SCE. Both are paid as a separate line on your bill and are not available to customers moving off NEM 1.0/2.0 or to buyers of a home with an existing system. Confirm your disadvantaged-community status with the utility before you assume the higher tier.

Is there a California solar tax credit or sales-tax exemption in 2026?

No. California has no state income-tax credit for residential solar today. Solar equipment is also subject to sales and use tax in California; there is no exemption for residential systems. If a proposal shows a "state incentive" or a "California rebate" line on a market-rate system, ask exactly which program it is. In 2026 the only cash programs left are income-qualified (below), and the only thing resembling a rebate for everyone else is the small ACC Plus credit above.

What is the SGIP battery rebate worth in 2026, and who can still get it?

For most households, nothing: the budgets that paid market-rate homeowners stopped taking applications on December 30, 2025, and in 2026 only the income-qualified Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget is open. The Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) is the state's battery rebate, administered by PG&E, SCE, SoCalGas, the Center for Sustainable Energy (for SDG&E territory) and, for the AB 209 equity budget, LADWP. For most of the last decade its General Market, Equity and Equity Resiliency budgets paid between $150 per kWh (General Market, final step) and $1,000–$1,100 per kWh (Equity Resiliency / Equity) of storage to a wide range of households. Those ratepayer-funded budgets stopped issuing reservations after December 31, 2025, the last day for new applications was December 30, 2025, and all ratepayer-funded waitlists were closed the same day (2026 SGIP Handbook §1). As of the program administrators' September 2026 metrics, every ratepayer-funded residential category shows "Closed."

What is still open is the Residential Solar and Storage Equity (RSSE) budget, funded with $280 million from the state's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund under AB 209. It pays:

• $3.10 per watt for new solar (new systems only — not expansions of an existing array), and
• $1.10 per watt-hour of battery storage, capped at 30 kWh for a single-family home. A 13.5 kWh battery is $14,850; a 6 kW array is $18,600.

Eligibility for a single-family home is income-based: household income at or below 80% of area median income, verified from your most recent federal tax return, or prior income verification through CARE, FERA, ESA, SASH or DAC-SASH. One wrinkle: the handbook assumes a 30% federal credit and caps SGIP at 70% of eligible cost unless you document otherwise. For a homeowner-owned single-family system with permission to operate after December 31, 2025 you no longer have to prove you are ineligible for the federal credit — but you still have to document why the project could not be third-party owned to get above 70%. Either way the SGIP payment plus any other incentive can never exceed the eligible project cost. Get the administrator's answer in writing before you count on a number; third-party-owned deals are common in this budget for exactly this reason. Status as of September 2, 2026: open for PG&E and SCE customers whose electricity comes from a publicly owned utility (the "POU" sub-budgets), waitlisted for PG&E's and SCE's own customers, SDG&E territory, SoCalGas and LADWP. A waitlist is not a rejection — projects that drop out release funds — but do not sign a contract that only pencils if the rebate arrives.

What is DAC-SASH and who qualifies?

The Disadvantaged Communities – Single-family Solar Homes program, run by GRID Alternatives, installs rooftop solar at no cost (in some cases low cost) for owner-occupants who meet all of: household income within CARE/FERA limits, a home in a census tract in the top 25% of CalEnviroScreen, and service from PG&E, SCE or SDG&E. The program has an $8.5 million annual budget and runs through 2030. If you are in a disadvantaged community and income-qualified, apply here before you take any market-rate quote — there is no version of a purchased or leased system that beats a free one.

Two related programs for people who cannot put solar on their own roof: the Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff and Community Solar Green Tariff each give a 20% bill discount to income-qualified customers in disadvantaged communities.

What happened to the federal solar tax credit in California?

The 30% federal residential credit under Section 25D ended for systems whose installation was completed after December 31, 2025. A California quote dated 2026 that subtracts 30% from a cash or loan price is wrong — here is what a 30% line tells you about the rep. The commercial credit (§48E) can still be claimed by a third-party owner on a lease or PPA, subject to the construction-start and foreign-entity rules that changed in 2025. It is the provider's credit, not yours; it shows up, if at all, in your monthly rate, so compare that rate and its annual escalator against an ownership quote before assuming the lease is cheaper — our lease vs. loan vs. cash math shows where it lands.

The new $24.15 fixed charge, and why it changes California solar math

Not an incentive, but every 2026 California savings estimate has to include it. Under AB 205 and CPUC Decision 24-05-028, PG&E, SCE and SDG&E now bill every residential customer a flat monthly charge — $24.15 for most households, about $12 for FERA and deed-restricted affordable housing, about $6 for CARE — in exchange for lower per-kWh rates. SCE and SDG&E started in late 2025; PG&E in the first quarter of 2026. Export credits cannot offset it (only the small ACC Plus adder can). A quote that still shows a small "minimum bill" as your only remaining cost is using a pre-2025 model; and because the per-kWh rate came down, the value of each kilowatt-hour your panels offset came down a little with it.

Before you sign: 5 incentive lines to check in a California solar quote

1. Completion date, in writing, before January 1, 2027. Not "installation scheduled" — completed. That is what keeps the property-tax exclusion.
2. Which rate the savings are modelled on. E-ELEC, TOU-D-PRIME or EV-TOU-5, with the $24.15 fixed charge in the "after solar" column, and exports at avoided cost — not a flat "you'll offset 100% of your bill."
3. No 30% federal line on a cash or loan price. No "California tax credit" or "state rebate" line on a market-rate system.
4. If a battery is quoted with an SGIP rebate, ask which budget and for the reservation letter. Anything other than RSSE (income-qualified) is closed; a "we'll get you on the list" promise for a closed budget is not an incentive.
5. The consumer-protection paperwork. A signed California Solar Consumer Protection Guide and the CSLB disclosure document are required for interconnection. Check the contractor's license (C-46 Solar, C-10 Electrical or B General) at cslb.ca.gov before the first payment.

California solar incentive FAQ

Is the SGIP rebate really gone for regular homeowners?

For new applications, yes. The General Market, Equity and Equity Resiliency budgets stopped taking applications on December 30, 2025 and their waitlists were closed. Only the income-qualified Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget is taking applications in 2026, and most of it is on a waitlist.

Will my property taxes go up if my solar is finished in 2027?

Under current law, yes — the exclusion is repealed January 1, 2027 and AB 2389 failed. The assessor would add the system's contribution to market value to your assessment. The Legislature can still act in 2027, but nothing you sign in 2026 should depend on that.

Does a battery get the nine-year export lock?

The lock applies to the export compensation schedule for your account, whether the exported energy comes from the panels or from a battery discharging in the evening. That is exactly the play under net billing: charge at midday when exports are worth a few cents, discharge or export during the high-value evening hours.

I'm buying a house with solar already on it. What do I get?

You inherit the seller's tariff — NEM 2.0 for its remaining years if that is what they had — and the property-tax exclusion stays until the sale itself triggers reassessment of the whole property. You do not get the ACC Plus adder; the CPUC excluded buyers of homes with existing systems.

Get your California solar quote checked, free

If you have a California proposal in hand, send it over and we will check the rate it is modelled on, the export assumptions, the incentive lines and the completion date against the current rules — the review takes about 15 minutes and costs you nothing. Start a free quote review, or read how the review works first. Solarfying is an independent solar broker; if you go ahead with an installer we introduce, that installer may pay us a referral fee. Homeowners never pay for the review.

Program figures are from CPUC Decision 22-12-056 and Resolution E-5301 (Net Billing Tariff, ACC Plus adders, lock-in), Decision 24-05-028 (fixed charge; utility implementation per Resolutions E-5354/E-5355), the 2026 SGIP Handbook (V3) and the SGIP program metrics as of September 2, 2026, Revenue and Taxation Code §73 as amended by SB 710 with the Board of Equalization's Letter to Assessors 2024/031, the Legislature's bill histories for AB 942 and AB 2389 (and the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee's April 27, 2026 analysis of AB 2389), and GRID Alternatives' DAC-SASH program page. Rates, budgets and waitlists change; confirm current terms with your utility, the SGIP administrator and a tax professional before relying on them. This article is general information, not tax advice.