The 30% federal residential tax credit (Section 25D) expired December 31, 2025. If you buy a system with cash or a loan in 2026, there’s no federal credit.

What Safford homeowners can still use:

• Arizona Residential Solar Tax Credit — 25% of system cost, capped at $1,000, against your state personal income tax
• Sales tax exemption on solar equipment
• Property tax exemption — your assessment doesn’t rise from the value solar adds
• Net billing — credit for excess power your system sends to the grid
• Lease/PPA financing — the 30% credit still exists under Section 48E for third-party owned systems, where the owner claims it and passes the value through as a lower payment. This is currently the only route to federal credit value on a residential system.

General information, not tax advice — confirm your situation with a tax professional.

No. If your system was installed and operational before December 31, 2025, you claim the credit on the return for the year it was placed in service. That isn’t retroactively removed — the expiration only affects systems installed in 2026 and after.

It depends on your actual electricity usage, roof space, and shading — not property size. Safford summers keep AC running for months, and that peak drives the sizing more than your annual average does. We’ll pull your 12-month usage and design to your real load. Get a free estimate to see your number.

Homes with owned solar systems generally sell for more than comparable homes without them. Arizona’s property tax exemption means that added value doesn’t raise your assessment. The effect depends on your market, system age, and whether the system is owned or leased — owned systems carry more value at resale.