Clean energy tax credits are going away. Here's how to get them before it's too late.

If you thought you had plenty of time to claim a tax credit on solar panel installation or an electric vehicle purchase, think again. Among the many provisions passed in Trump's recent tax bill is the early demise of clean energy tax credits.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law in 2022 under President Biden, tax credits for "climate-friendly purchases ranging from heat pumps to solar arrays" were set to last through 2032, said Fast Company. But after the enactment of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill on July 4, that "time frame has been cut to as little as a few months," leaving consumers a small window of time to take advantage.

Which clean energy credits are being phased out?

There are a number of clean energy tax credits and rebates that will get an early end under the bill, including:

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Residential solar. "For the past 20 years, if you installed solar panels or solar shingles on your roof, you could get a 30% tax credit," said Fast Company. This is getting eliminated under the Trump bill.

Energy-efficient home improvements. Another tax credit to "help make homes more energy efficient," known as the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, is also expiring, which means that "if you want to upgrade your insulation, replace your doors or windows, swap out your furnace with an electric heat pump or switch to a more efficient water heater, now is the time," said The New York Times. This credit offered "up to $1,200 off home upgrades like new insulation, doors and windows" and "up to $2,000 off heat pumps, water heaters, biomass stoves or biomass boilers on your tax bill," said NPR.

Electric vehicle purchases. The new law will also end the cash rebate for EV buyers. Currently, some buyers are "eligible for a federal tax credit worth up to $7,500 for buying or leasing a new EV, and up to $4,000 for a used vehicle," said NPR. The credit for installing EV chargers will expire as well.

How much time do you have left to claim clean energy tax credits?

Timelines for when credits will expire vary, but some are coming up quickly. The earliest is the tax credit for EVs — "you would need to buy or lease the car by Sept. 30 to claim a federal tax credit," said the Times.

Others will go away by the end of this year. Credits for rooftop solar and energy-efficient home improvements, like weatherization and heat pump installation, will expire Dec. 31.

You have a little longer if you are planning to install an EV charger, though — "strangely, the tax credit for installing an EV charger (up to $1,000) runs through June of next year," said Wired.

How else can you save if you miss these credits?

If you cannot act in time for these credits, the good news is "there are other programs out there," said the Times. One program still in existence "provides rebates to families making less than 150% of their local median income" on electrification-related home improvements. Another, "focused on efficiency, potentially provides thousands of dollars in rebates for upgrading space heating, cooling, insulation and water heaters to all households."

There are still some state-level incentives, too, for those who "want to go solar," make "energy-efficient improvements to their home" or "switch to an electric vehicle," said Bankrate.