Florida solar incentives 2026: what exists, what ended and what never existed

In 2026 Florida has three real solar incentives: you do not pay the 6% state sales tax on the system, the value it adds to your home does not raise your property tax, and the regulated utilities (FPL, Duke, TECO) credit your surplus energy 1 to 1. There is no state rebate or state tax credit, and the federal credit for buyers ended December 31, 2025.

What incentives actually exist?

You are right to be suspicious if a salesperson shows you a longer list. What they usually add are “programs” that do not exist or the federal credit that no longer applies to purchases.

How does the sales tax exemption work?

You do nothing. Florida Statute 212.08 exempts solar energy systems and the components used to install or operate them from sales and use tax. DSIRE documents that the exemption has existed since 1997 and became permanent in 2005. The installer simply does not charge the state tax on the invoice. If you see a “sales tax” line on the panels in a proposal, ask why.

One detail: the exemption is on the state tax. County discretionary surtaxes are administered separately. Ask your installer how it is applied in your county.

How does the property tax exemption work?

It is automatic and requires no application. Statute 193.624 says that, for residential property, the just value attributable to a renewable energy source device “may not be considered” when determining assessed value. DSIRE summarizes it as a 100% exemption for residential. In other words: if the system raises your home’s market value, the county appraiser cannot raise your tax for it.

The current statute text has an expiration date: December 31, 2037. After that the protection changes form. For a 2026 decision, it covers the system’s practical life.

What about net metering and the utilities?

Net metering is the agreement under which the utility credits every kWh you export at the same price you pay to consume. In Florida, Public Service Commission Rule 25-6.065 sets it for regulated utilities, with systems up to 2 MW in three tiers. FPL, Duke Energy and TECO apply it; TECO describes it as a credit at your current retail rate.

Two things no salesperson mentions:

• Minimum charge. With FPL, for example, there is a $30 minimum base bill that solar does not eliminate, per its net metering FAQs. That is why we say “minimum bill”, never “zero bill”.
• Annual settlement. The credit rolls month to month and at year-end FPL settles what is left at a different rate (the generation rate, which is lower). Detail in net metering in Florida.

Municipal and co-op utilities (OUC in Orlando, JEA in Jacksonville, GRU in Gainesville, Lakeland Electric, FPUA) are not under the Commission’s rule. They have their own policies, and some have changed the credit rate for new customers. Some have also offered battery incentives. Amounts change; verify directly with your utility before anyone runs numbers for you.

Heads up: in 2022 the legislature passed HB 741 to phase down net metering and the governor vetoed it. It remains 1 to 1, but the power industry tried once and may try again. A system connected today normally keeps its terms; a system you are “going to install next year” has nothing locked in.

What ended and what never existed?

Ended: the 30% federal credit for buyers (25D), for installations completed after December 31, 2025, per the IRS. Detail in federal solar tax credit 2026. Confirm with your tax preparer.

Never existed: a Florida state rebate, a state tax credit, a “Florida government program that pays for your panels”, or “free panels for living in the Sunshine State”. If you hear any of those lines, read free solar panels: the myth. PACE, sometimes sold as a government program, is private financing collected through property tax: PACE explained.

When the incentives do NOT change the decision

• When your bill is low. The exemptions trim the cost a little; they do not create savings where there is no usage to offset.
• When you are on a municipal that does not credit 1 to 1. Without that credit, the system has to be sized differently and the payback changes.
• When the roof needs replacing. No incentive covers removal and reinstall.
• When the proposal depends on an incentive that no longer exists. If the line “after tax credit” is on your purchase proposal, the proposal is wrong.

What to check before you decide

• That the proposal includes no state sales tax on the system.
• That it includes no 30% tax credit if you are the buyer.
• Which utility you are on and whether Rule 25-6.065 or a municipal policy applies.
• Your utility’s monthly minimum charge, so that “savings” means what you think it means.
• The real cost of the system in solar panel cost in Florida 2026 and the payment options in ways to get solar compared.