*New Hampshire net-metering, property-tax, and federal-credit rules current as of July 2026, per New Hampshire PUC Order 27,074, RSA 72:61 and RSA 72:62, and Public Law 119-21.
New Hampshire collects no broad personal income tax, so a solar income-tax credit like the ones in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island has no tax bill to reduce and cannot exist. Additionally, the state doesn’t charge sales tax, so panels, inverters, and batteries are untaxed at the register with no special carve-out required.
Two supports homeowners leaned on for years are now gone. The federal residential credit fell to zero for owned systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the state’s cash rebate was repealed in 2024. That leaves a shorter, sturdier set of programs, and they reward owning a system over a long horizon instead of cutting the price on day one.
Find out what New Hampshire programs are available to you!
What Happened To the Federal Solar Tax Credit?
The federal residential solar credit no longer applies to a system you own. Under Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Section 25D residential credit fell to zero for any system placed in service after December 31, 2025. If you buy or finance panels in New Hampshire this year, there is no 30% federal credit to claim on that purchase.
New Hampshire’s Solar Incentives for 2026
Incentive | How It Works | Value | Who Collects It |
|---|---|---|---|
Net Metering (NEM 2.0) | Monthly credit for power you export, with terms locked through 2040 | 80% to 85% of the retail rate at the investor-owned utilities; 62% at the co-op | The homeowner, on the host utility account |
Property Tax Exemption | Your town waives the added home value from solar | 100% of the added value, up to $25,000 | The homeowner, where the town has adopted it |
No State Sales Tax | Equipment is untaxed at the point of sale | 0% tax on panels, inverters, and batteries | Every buyer |
Battery Storage Rebate | Eversource pays for a home battery through the Clean Energy Fund | $230 per kWh, capped at $3,000 | The homeowner, with a storage commitment |
Income-qualified Community Solar | Bill credit for Electric Assistance Program households | 2.5¢ per kWh added to the credit | Enrolled income-eligible households |
New Hampshire Net Metering and Its 2040 Guarantee
Net metering is where the real money sits for a New Hampshire homeowner, and the state has done something unusual with it. It fixed the terms in place for more than a decade. The Public Utilities Commission adopted the Alternative Net Metering tariff, known as NEM 2.0, and its Order 27,074 kept the tariff intact and guaranteed its terms through December 31, 2040.
The date is the important part. Many states have cut export rates or moved to avoided-cost billing with little warning, which leaves homeowners who sized around the old rules holding a weaker return. New Hampshire wrote its terms into a formal order, so a system placed in service in 2026 carries known export value through 2040. That certainty works like an incentive, even when no money changes hands up front.
How NEM 2.0 Credits Your Exports
In each billing month, the three investor-owned utilities net the power your panels produce against the power your home draws. A monthly surplus is credited at 100% of the energy charge, 100% of transmission, and 25% of distribution, which puts the export credit at 80% to 85% of the all-in retail rate. Unused credits roll forward month to month, and you can cash out a balance above $100 each March 31. A few non-bypassable charges still apply to every kilowatt-hour you import, so a properly sized system cuts the bill deeply without zeroing it out.
One practical rule follows from this. Size the system to your own yearly usage. Residential net metering covers systems up to 100 kW, several times what a typical home needs, so your own consumption sets the size and the 100 kW cap rarely enters the picture. Producing more than you use pushes the surplus into the annual cash-out, which pays less than the monthly credit.
The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative Exception
The co-op is the exception. New Hampshire Electric Cooperative runs its own program outside the state tariff and credits exports at 62% of its retail rate, below the 80% to 85% the investor-owned utilities pay. Same roof and same sun, a smaller credit, decided entirely by which utility serves the address.
Group Net Metering
New Hampshire also allows group net metering, where several accounts share the output of a single system. A host meter distributes the credits to member accounts, which extends net metering to households, farms, and small organizations that cannot place panels on their own roof.
The Solar Property Tax Exemption and How to Claim It
Adding solar raises a home’s value, and in most of the country a higher assessment follows. New Hampshire lets your town cancel that increase. Under RSA 72:61 and RSA 72:62, a municipality may exempt the value a solar system adds to a property.
The statute reads: “Each city and town may adopt under RSA 72:27-a an exemption from the assessed value, for property tax purposes, for persons owning real property which is equipped with a solar energy system as defined in RSA 72:61.”
What the Exemption Covers
Where a town has adopted the exemption, it covers 100% of the solar system’s added value up to a cap set by each town’s own vote, commonly $25,000. For towns that adopted or re-adopted on or after January 1, 2020, the covered equipment includes the panels, inverters, and storage.
The exemption applies whether you paid cash or financed the system, and it does not hinge on who owns the panels, which makes it one of the few New Hampshire supports a leaseholder can benefit from indirectly.
The statute’s definition sets what the exemption shields. A “solar energy system” under RSA 72:61 covers the collection, storage, and distribution of the sun’s energy, so panels, inverters, mounting, and a paired battery all fall inside the exempt value where a town has adopted the current definition.
Example: Say solar adds $20,000 to your home’s assessed value in a town that has adopted the exemption. That full $20,000 comes off the taxable value, so your assessment returns to where it sat before the panels went up, and the added value stays off the rolls for as long as the system operates. In a town that has not adopted it, the same $20,000 would raise your tax bill every year the system is in place.
Eligibility and How to Claim It
The limit is that adoption is a local choice. The exemption is live in some communities and absent in others, so the same system can be exempt in one town and fully assessed one town over. More than half of New Hampshire municipalities offer it, but because adoption is local, confirm it with your own town assessor before you count on it.
- Confirm your town has adopted the exemption by checking with your local assessor.
- File Form PA-29 with the local assessor by April 15.
- File once after the system is installed rather than every year, though an assessor can ask you to confirm that the system is still in service.
Why Rising Electricity Rates Raise the Value of Net Metering
An export credit is worth only as much as the rate behind it, and New Hampshire’s rates are among the steepest in the country. Households here pay the eighth-highest residential electricity prices nationally, 44.7% above the U.S. average, and they have kept climbing at more than 3% a year over the past five years. The tariff sets the export credit as a share of the retail rate, so every increase in that rate lifts the credit along with it.
A rebate or a fixed credit is a set dollar amount that a legislature can trim. A net-metering credit pegged to the retail rate grows on its own as power gets more expensive, and the guarantee through 2040 keeps that mechanism running while it does. For a homeowner in a high-rate state, the return builds in the part of the bill that solar erases.
One nuance is worth knowing if you shop for supply. New Hampshire is a retail-choice state, so you can take utility default service, join a Community Power program, or pick a competitive supplier. That choice changes the supply portion of your bill, but the utility still calculates your net-metering credit, so switching suppliers does not shrink your solar credit.
The pressure behind those rates is regional. New Hampshire sits inside the ISO New England grid, where winter demand and constrained natural-gas pipelines lift wholesale prices in the cold months. Those wholesale swings flow into the retail rate your net-metering credit is measured against, so the credit tends to gain value in the same seasons your bills climb.
Smaller New Hampshire Solar Programs Worth Checking
Beyond net metering and the property tax exemption, a few narrower programs add value for specific households.
Battery Storage Rebate
Eversource pays a New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund incentive of $230 per kWh for a home battery, capped at $3,000 for residential customers. In return you agree to a three-year demand-response commitment, which lets the utility draw on your battery during peak events. The payment covers a real share of storage cost, though a battery earns little on bill savings alone in New Hampshire, so its value here is backup power and the rebate, with only a small effect on payback.
Income-Qualified Community Solar
For households enrolled in the state’s Electric Assistance Program, the low- and moderate-income community solar program under RSA 362-A:9 adds a 2.5¢-per-kWh credit, within a 6-megawatt-per-year cap. It is built for renters and lower-income owners who cannot host a rooftop array of their own.
Renewable Energy Certificates
New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard includes a Class II solar carve-out, so a system owner can register and sell certificates through the regional market. The value is modest, tens of dollars per megawatt-hour, and it adds to net metering instead of replacing it.
In practice, you register the array with the regional tracking system, NEPOOL GIS, which issues one certificate for each megawatt-hour your panels generate. You sell those certificates into the New England market, and the price rises and falls with how hard suppliers are working to meet the state’s Class II obligation, so the income amounts to a small, variable bonus.
PACE Financing
New Hampshire’s PACE financing, authorized under RSA 53-F, is limited to commercial and multi-family properties, so a single-family homeowner cannot use it to finance a rooftop solar system. It surfaces in some solar searches, but for a typical New Hampshire resident it is not an available option.
Who Qualifies for New Hampshire Solar Incentives?
Eligibility for New Hampshire’s solar incentives depends on three things: whether you own the system, which utility serves you, and where your town stands on the property tax exemption.
Ownership. Buy or finance the system and you hold the net-metering agreement, you can claim the property tax exemption where your town offers it, and you can register renewable certificates. Under a lease or power-purchase agreement, the solar company owns the hardware and takes the federal 48E credit, while the net-metering credits still post to your own utility account, since you remain the customer-generator of record.
Utility territory. The three investor-owned utilities, Eversource, Unitil, and Liberty, all follow the state’s NEM 2.0 tariff and its 80% to 85% export credit. New Hampshire Electric Cooperative members fall under the co-op’s separate, lower credit. Confirming which utility serves your address is the single most useful step before you model any savings.
System size. Residential net metering covers systems up to 100 kW, several times the size a typical home installs, so nearly every rooftop project clears the threshold. Crossing into the larger class adds interconnection steps most homeowners never encounter. If you drive an electric vehicle or plan to add a heat pump, size for that higher future use now, since the net-metering agreement runs on the system you install.
Who Doesn’t Qualify for NH Solar Incentives?
Solar pays in most New Hampshire situations, though not all, and the cases where it falls short deserve a plain accounting.
Renters and condo owners. Without ownership of your roof, you cannot host a system or claim the property tax exemption. Group net metering under RSA 362-A:9 and the income-qualified community solar program are the realistic options, and a new law, SB 540, will let residents run small plug-in solar units up to 1,200 watts starting in late July 2026.
Co-op members with low usage. A New Hampshire Electric Cooperative member who uses little electricity feels the co-op’s lower export credit and higher fixed charge more than anyone. Solar can still pay on a sound, unshaded roof, but this is the household where the payback runs longest.
A short stay in the home. Solar value builds over years, not a single season. A homeowner who expects to move within a few years may not recover the upfront cost, and a lease or power-purchase agreement that transfers to the next owner is the better fit.
An aging or shaded roof. Heavy shade, or an asphalt roof already past 12 to 15 years old, works against the return. Re-roofing first, or waiting, beats paying to remove and reset a young array a few years after installation.
For any of these, the next step is not always no. Community solar, group net metering, and a later move to a lease keep a version of solar on the table when a rooftop purchase does not fit. Homeowners weighing those options against a purchase can start with whether solar pays off here and what solar costs in New Hampshire.
A local installer that knows your utility’s process can confirm what applies, and vetting New Hampshire solar installers is a good place to begin.
See Which New Hampshire Solar Incentives You Qualify For
Which programs reach you depends on your town, your utility, and how you own the system. Enter your ZIP code to see the net-metering terms, the property tax exemption status, and the local programs that apply where you live, and to check whether your address clears the basics before you talk to an installer.
Find out what New Hampshire programs are available to you!
Frequently Asked Questions
No. New Hampshire has no broad state income tax, so there is no tax bill for a solar credit to reduce, and none exists. The state also repealed its cash rebate in 2024. The financial case here runs on net metering and the property tax exemption.
Not for a system you own. The Section 25D residential credit dropped to zero for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Leased and power-purchase systems can still use the Section 48E commercial credit, but the solar company claims it, not the homeowner.
Senate Bill 303, signed in 2024, repealed the statute behind the state’s residential renewable rebate. The New Hampshire Department of Energy states that the program is now permanently closed. Any current offer citing a state rebate is out of date.
Through December 31, 2040. The Public Utilities Commission fixed the NEM 2.0 tariff terms in Order 27,074, which gives a system installed in 2026 known export value for the next 14 years. That is a longer certainty window than most states offer.
Only if your town has not adopted the exemption. Where it is in place, RSA 72:62 lets your town exempt 100% of the value solar adds up to a locally set cap, commonly $25,000. Adoption is local, so confirm with your town assessor and file Form PA-29 by April 15.
No. New Hampshire charges no state sales tax, so panels, inverters, and batteries are untaxed at purchase. There is no exemption form to file, because there is no tax to remove.
Sometimes. Group net metering and the income-qualified community solar program can reach households that cannot host a rooftop array. Starting in late July 2026, SB 540 also allows small plug-in solar units up to 1,200 watts without a permit.
References & Research Sources: EcoGen America reviewed federal legislation, New Hampshire net metering orders, state property tax statutes, net energy metering statutes, state renewable energy rebate program materials, utility battery incentive resources, federal electricity price data, and federal begin-construction guidance for this article. Sources were accessed July 13, 2026, unless another publication, release, effective, or update date is listed below.
- Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. Public Law 119-21: An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14. Federal public law resource published by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Approved July 4, 2025. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission (NHPUC). Order on Net Metering. Docket DE 22-060; Order No. 27,074. Issued November 18, 2024. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- New Hampshire General Court. RSA 72:62: Exemption for Solar Energy Systems. Property tax exemption statute for solar energy systems. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- New Hampshire General Court. RSA 72:61: Definition of Solar Energy Systems. Statutory definition for solar energy systems under New Hampshire property tax law. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- New Hampshire General Court. RSA 362-A:9: Net Energy Metering. State net energy metering statute, including group net metering and low-moderate income community solar provisions. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- New Hampshire Department of Energy. Residential Renewable Electrical Generation Rebate Program. State renewable energy rebate program resource, including Senate Bill 303 program closure information. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Eversource Energy. New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund Home Battery Incentives. Home battery storage incentive and demand response program resource for New Hampshire customers. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, by State. Federal electricity price data table, including residential average retail electricity prices. Data for April 2026; released June 25, 2026. Accessed July 13, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Beginning of Construction Requirements for Purposes of the Termination of Clean Electricity Production Credits and Clean Electricity Investment Credits for Applicable Wind and Solar Facilities. Notice 2025-42. Federal begin-construction guidance related to Sections 45Y and 48E. Accessed July 13, 2026.
