The federal tax credit that used to take up to $2,000 off a heat pump ended for anything placed in service after 31 December 2025. What is left is not federal and not automatic — it is your electric utility, your state, and occasionally the manufacturer. You have to go and get it.
It is worth the hour. Utility rebates on a qualifying heat pump routinely run into several hundred dollars and in some territories a good deal more. But nobody sends it to you, and a fair number of programmes will not pay at all if you find them too late.
What actually ended
The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit expired for equipment placed in service after 31 December 2025. If your system went in during 2025 you may still be able to claim it on that tax year's return — our 2026 incentives guide has the detail and the sources. For anything going in now, treat the federal credit as gone and look locally.
The three places to look
1. Your electric utility
This is where most of the remaining money is, and it is the first place to check. Nearly every investor-owned utility and a good many co-ops run efficiency rebate programmes, and heat pumps are usually the best-funded category — the utility has an interest in electrification and in shaving summer peak load.
Search your utility's own website rather than a third-party listing. Programme terms change annually and the utility's own page is the only version that is current.
2. Your state
Most states run an energy office with some combination of rebates, low-interest financing, and federally funded programmes administered at state level. Availability varies enormously between states and from year to year, so check your state energy office directly rather than assuming something exists.
3. The manufacturer
Trane and the value brands run seasonal promotions through their dealer networks. These are normally tied to purchase and installation through a participating dealer, so they often do not apply to equipment bought direct. Ask before you count on one.
One database covers most of it. DSIRE — the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, run by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center — indexes utility, state and local programmes by ZIP code. Start there to find out what exists near you, then confirm the terms on the programme's own page before relying on anything.
The mistake that costs people the rebate
A great many programmes require you to apply before the work is done. Pre-approval, a pre-inspection, or a participating-contractor requirement — and once the system is in, you have missed it. There is usually no appeal.
So the order matters. Find the programme, read its rules, then buy and install. Not the other way round. This is the single most common way people lose money they were entitled to.
What every programme will ask you for
- The AHRI certified reference number for your exact condenser and air handler combination. This is the number that proves the rating, and it is the one thing most buyers cannot produce. Our match checker will give it to you for any pairing we carry.
- Both model numbers — outdoor and indoor. A condenser model on its own is not enough.
- Proof of purchase — an itemised invoice showing what you paid and when.
- Installer details, usually including a licence number, and sometimes a signed installation certificate.
- The in-service date, which is the installation date rather than the date you bought the equipment.
Why the AHRI number matters more than the number on the box. A programme sets a minimum efficiency — say 15.2 SEER2 for a heat pump. That threshold applies to the certified pair, not to the condenser's series name. The same outdoor unit can clear the bar with one air handler and miss it with another. The AHRI reference number is what settles it, and it is what the administrator checks.
Heat pumps usually do better than air conditioners
If you are weighing a straight air conditioner against a heat pump and the running costs look close, check the rebates before you decide. Incentive money is aimed at electrification, so the heat pump rebate is often the larger one — sometimes by more than the difference in equipment price. Our heat pump range is all R-454B and sold as AHRI-matched pairs.
What we can do, and what we won't
We can give you everything the paperwork needs: the AHRI certified reference number, both model numbers, the certified ratings for that exact pair, and an itemised invoice. Ask and we will send it.
What we will not do is tell you what you qualify for. Terms differ by utility, by state, by year, and sometimes by ZIP code inside a single utility's territory — a supplier in Florida guessing about a programme in Ohio helps nobody and could cost you the claim. The programme administrator is the only authority on that, and they will answer the phone.
Questions?
If a programme is asking for a number you cannot find on your paperwork, send us the model numbers and we will pull it for you.
(239) 266-9766 · sales@hvacsupplypro.com · Mon–Sat 8am–5pm ET