IRA, ITC, and Solar Policy: What Landlords Need to Know Going Into 2026
Where the federal credit stands, how direct pay works, and which labor and sourcing rules now have teeth. A clean summary for property owners.
What's in force
- A federal Investment Tax Credit for qualifying projects. Solar and storage have different federal credit deadlines, and credit value depends on the project, its ownership, its construction dates and the eligibility requirements it meets. Qualifying solar that begins construction after July 4, 2026 generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027; storage follows separate rules. Confirm your own position with your tax adviser against our federal tax credit summary.
- Direct-pay for tax-exempt entities (HOAs, non-profits, some tribal and municipal owners).
- Transferability — for-profit owners without enough tax appetite can sell the credit to another taxpayer.
- Domestic-content bonus (up to +10 percentage points) for projects that meet the domestic content rules.
- Low-income community bonus, allocated through an IRS program with its own rules and capacity.
- Prevailing wage + apprenticeship — required to earn the full credit rate; without them the rate drops sharply. Applicability depends on project size and construction dates.
What changed in 2025
- Domestic-content thresholds tightened slightly.
- Apprenticeship and prevailing-wage documentation is handled by most established installers in-house; the current requirements and the beginning-of-construction tests are set out in our federal tax credit summary.
- Additional low-income allocation for multifamily properties in HUD-defined difficult-development areas.
The 2026 calendar
No major solar-specific legislation expected. State-level PUC rate cases are the more meaningful policy variable — California, New York, and Massachusetts all have active solar-adjacent proceedings.
Practical takeaway
The federal supports above exist today, but solar and storage run on different deadlines and the value of any credit depends on the project, its ownership, its construction dates and the requirements it meets. Confirm your own position with your tax adviser against our federal tax credit summary before you underwrite a number.
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