After the solar tax credit ended, leases took over
Buying solar lost its 30% federal tax credit on January 1, 2026. Leasing did not: the company that owns the panels can still claim a business credit for systems running by the end of 2027. Sunrun, which mostly leases, pulled 30% of New York's solar permits this year, up from 18% in 2025, and 57% of Chicago's, up from 44%.
Your options now
- Lease or buy the power. A company installs and owns the panels, and you pay it each month. It can claim the business tax credit until the end of 2027, which lowers what it charges you (SEIA). Before you sign, ask how much the payment goes up each year, who owns the panels at the end, and what happens if you sell the house.
- Buy the system. There is no federal credit now, but local help remains. Austin Energy raised its rebate from $2,500 to $4,000 on July 1, 2026 (Austin Energy). In Austin, a typical home system cost $27,000 before the credit ended (Austin solar costs). In New York, a typical home system cost $36,000 before the credit ended (New York solar costs).
- A battery as a service. Base Power installs a large home battery for a $695 fee and $19 a month, and sells you electricity. It keeps the house running in an outage. It works in Texas and has started in Illinois (Base Power, Electrek). It is a battery, not solar.
Have a quote already? Check it against what homeowners paid. Ask installers to quote both a lease and a purchase, then compare the total over 20 years. Ranked installers: New York, Philadelphia, Austin, Chicago.
What happened to permits
Solar permits issued, January to August of each year. Every city dropped in January 2026. In Philadelphia, one company, PosiGen Provider LLC, pulled 584 of the 938 permits in January to August 2025. It stopped most of its operations in August 2025 (WHYY). Without it, Philadelphia went from 354 to 277, down 22%.
| City | January to August 2025 | January to August 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 4,430 | 2,220 | -50% |
| Philadelphia | 938 | 277 | -70% |
| Austin | 477 | 337 | -29% |
| Chicago | 1,160 | 1,096 | -6% |
Orange bars are 2026. The dashed line is January 1, 2026.
Cities we left out
Seattle: in 2026 its counts fall for every kind of work we track, not only solar, which points to a change in how permits are recorded. San Francisco started a new online solar permit in 2026, so its counts jump for a reason other than demand. Our Los Angeles and Nashville data has no 2026 solar permits.
Counts are every solar permit each city issued, by issue date, from its open permit data, so they include some businesses. A lease is counted by the installer on the permit; Sunrun sells mostly leases and power contracts, but some of its customers buy. Months run January to August; September 2026 is left out because it is not over. The tax credit rules: IRS. Data: data.json. Updated September 25, 2026.