Short answer: Washington has no solar tax credit and no state rebate, but it does have two things that matter, a 100% sales tax exemption on solar equipment and installation labor, and net metering. The federal 30% credit expired at the end of 2025. There is no programme giving away free panels.
Wondering whether solar is worth doing at all in Washington, incentives aside? That question has its own page: Is Solar Worth It in Washington State? This one is the incentives list.
That is the honest list. Below is what each is worth, what it takes to claim, and straight answers to the two questions we get asked most.
What a Washington homeowner gets in 2026
- Sales tax exemption, 100% off state and local sales tax on both equipment and installation labor. Open, and it runs to the end of 2029.
- Net metering, retail-rate credit for what you export. Always on, and the biggest long-term lever in this climate.
- Washington state tax credit, does not exist. See below for why.
- Utility rebate from Clark PUD or Cowlitz PUD. Neither offers one for solar hardware.
- Federal residential tax credit, expired December 31, 2025.
- Free panels for seniors or low-income households, not currently available. Details below, honestly.
The sales tax exemption: the one real cash saving
This is the incentive people overlook because it never arrives as a cheque. It simply is not charged. On a system in the tens of thousands, avoiding sales tax on the whole project is real money.
- What it covers: both the equipment and the installation labor. Not equipment only.
- System size: 1 kW to 100 kW AC, which covers every residential system we build and most small commercial ones.
- How you claim it: at the point of sale, not as a refund. You give your installer a completed exemption certificate (Department of Revenue form REV 40 2432A) and the tax is simply not charged.
- How long it lasts: applies to installations through December 31, 2029. The statute expires January 1, 2030.
The legal basis is RCW 82.08.962 and RCW 82.12.962. One thing worth knowing: there is a separate, older refund-based scheme in the Washington Administrative Code that applies to systems above 100 kW and to earlier tiers that have already expired. It is not the residential exemption, and the two get conflated regularly.
Is there a Washington state solar tax credit?
No, and there structurally cannot be one. Washington has no state income tax, so there is no state return against which a credit could be claimed. Any page offering you a Washington state solar tax credit has confused the state with somewhere else, or is describing the federal credit that has since expired.
What Washington did have was the Renewable Energy System Incentive Program, a production-based cash incentive administered through Washington State University that paid per kilowatt-hour generated. It closed to new applicants on June 30, 2021 after being fully subscribed, and no new funding has been appropriated since. If your neighbour has been receiving production payments, that is why, they got in before mid-2021 and you cannot join now.
Net metering in Washington
Net metering is the mechanism that makes solar work in a climate this seasonal. Your system will overproduce dramatically in summer and underproduce in winter; net metering banks the difference.
- Credits accrue for what you export and offset what you import later.
- Annual reconciliation is 31 March. Unused credits are zeroed at that point with no payment. This is set in RCW 80.60.030.
- Consumer-owned utilities set their own terms within state law, which matters here because that is exactly what Clark PUD and Cowlitz PUD are.
Clark PUD and Cowlitz PUD specifics
Cowlitz PUD: systems up to 100 kW, 31 March true-up, and a $100 interconnection application fee. No solar rebate.
Clark PUD: systems up to 100 kW, with systems between 26 kW and 100 kW needing additional approval. No solar rebate. We confirm their current true-up date directly for your project rather than publishing a date we have not verified from their own tariff.
The absence of a rebate at either PUD is not a knock on them. Public utility districts here have some of the lowest rates in the country, which is also why payback maths in Clark and Cowlitz counties looks different from a high-rate state, and why we would rather show you your own numbers than a national average.
“Free solar panels for seniors” and Solar For All. The honest answer
These are among the most common searches we see, so here is the straight version rather than a lead-capture page.
There is no programme currently giving Washington homeowners free solar panels, for seniors or anyone else. Adverts implying otherwise are usually selling a lease or a power purchase agreement, where a company owns the system on your roof and sells you the power. That is a real financing structure with real trade-offs, but it is not free solar, and it complicates selling your house.
Solar For All is a genuine federal programme. Washington Commerce was awarded $156 million under it. However, the EPA moved to terminate the award on August 7, 2025, and Commerce paused the programme pending resolution. We have found no confirmed restart as of August 2026. Its status is genuinely unresolved, and we are not going to tell you it is coming when we do not know that.
What does exist, and is worth knowing about, is low-income weatherization, through Clark County and Clark PUD, and through Lower Columbia CAP in Cowlitz County. These are real, funded and useful. They cover insulation, air sealing and heating efficiency. They do not include solar panels. For a household on a tight budget, weatherization frequently delivers more comfort per dollar than solar would anyway, and it is the honest first recommendation.
What happened to the federal 30% credit
The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D was terminated for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. There was no phase-down. It was a hard cutoff. It is not available for a residential system installed in 2026.
If you are holding a quote that still shows 30% coming back, that quote understates your real cost by a large margin and needs redoing before you compare it to anything else. We explain the current position in full here.
So what does a Washington project actually look like now?
Without the federal credit, the arithmetic rests on three things: no sales tax on the project, retail-rate net metering for twenty-five years, and utility rates that will not stay where they are. That is a slower payback than 2024 and a perfectly sound one, but it deserves real numbers rather than a brochure.
Ask any installer for a quote that shows the sales tax exemption applied, states your utility by name, and contains no federal credit line. If a proposal fails any of those three tests, it was not built for 2026. Compare with what Oregon homeowners can claim if you own property on both sides of the river.
Sunbridge installs across Southwest Washington. Our Washington solar installers page lists the towns we serve, what each utility allows and how long a Clark County job takes from permit to switch-on.
What solar incentives does Washington offer in 2026?
A 100% sales tax exemption on solar equipment and installation labor for systems from 1 to 100 kW AC, and net metering. Washington has no state solar tax credit and no state rebate, and neither Clark PUD nor Cowlitz PUD offers a cash rebate for solar hardware.
Is there a Washington state solar tax credit?
No. Washington has no state income tax, so no state credit is possible. The old Renewable Energy System Incentive Program, which paid per kilowatt-hour, closed to new applicants on June 30, 2021 and has not been refunded.
Do I pay sales tax on solar panels in Washington?
No. Systems from 1 to 100 kW AC qualify for a 100% sales tax exemption covering both equipment and installation labor. You claim it at the point of sale with a Department of Revenue exemption certificate, not as a refund afterwards.
When does the Washington solar sales tax exemption expire?
It applies to installations through December 31, 2029, with the statute expiring on January 1, 2030.
Are there free solar panels for seniors in Washington state?
No. There is no programme currently giving away solar panels to seniors or low-income households in Washington. Offers that sound like free solar are usually leases or power purchase agreements, where a company owns the system and sells you the power.
What happened to Solar For All in Washington?
Washington Commerce was awarded $156 million under the federal Solar For All programme, but the EPA moved to terminate the award on August 7, 2025 and Commerce paused the programme. No confirmed restart has been announced as of August 2026.
Does Clark PUD or Cowlitz PUD offer a solar rebate?
Neither offers a cash rebate for solar hardware. Both support net metering, Cowlitz PUD allows systems up to 100 kW with a 31 March true-up and a $100 interconnection application fee, and Clark PUD allows up to 100 kW with additional approval needed above 26 kW.
Is the 30% federal solar tax credit still available?
No. It was terminated for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, with no phase-down. Any quote showing a 30% federal residential credit in 2026 is out of date.
Want a Washington quote with the sales tax exemption applied and no phantom credit in it? Call 360-313-7190 or request a free quote.