Solar incentives and rebates in Indiana: what is left after the 2025 changes

Solar incentives in Indiana are now very limited: as of November 2026 there is no state solar rebate or state income tax credit, and Indiana's property tax deductions for solar devices were eliminated by 2025 legislation for assessment dates from January 1, 2025 onward. The federal homeowner credit has also ended for new systems, so Indiana solar savings now come almost entirely from lowering your own electric bill.

On top of that, net metering has closed for new customers of Indiana's big investor-owned utilities. Here is what has changed, what remains, and how to judge an Indiana solar offer.

Key takeaways

• No state solar rebate and no state solar tax credit for homeowners, as of November 2026.
• Indiana's solar property tax deductions ended under Senate Enrolled Act 1 (2025), retroactive to January 1, 2025; county auditors stop applying them starting with taxes payable in 2026.
• New customers of AES Indiana, CenterPoint, Duke Energy Indiana, I&M and NIPSCO get an excess distributed generation (EDG) credit instead of net metering.
• AES Indiana's EDG credit is 5.4325 cents per kWh (effective July 27, 2026); NIPSCO's is 4.9685 cents (effective April 1, 2026).
• The IRS says the federal 25D homeowner credit is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025, meaning systems whose installation is completed after that date.

What solar incentives does Indiana offer in 2026?

Very little. We checked state tax guidance, the utility tariffs of Indiana's largest providers and state law in November 2026 and found no current statewide rebate, grant or income tax credit for residential solar. Indiana's two property tax deductions for solar equipment, once the state's main solar incentives, have now ended.

That does not mean solar cannot pay off in Indiana. It means you should judge a project on three things only: the installed price, how much solar you will use at home, and your utility's credit for exported power. If a salesperson mentions an "Indiana solar rebate," ask for the program name and official page.

Indiana's solar property tax deduction has ended

For years, Indiana let owners deduct the value added by a solar device from their property's assessed value, which kept rooftop solar from raising the taxable value of a home. That benefit mattered most to owners in counties with higher tax rates, and it was one of the few state-level reasons to go solar in Indiana.

That changed in 2025. The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) 2025 legislative update lists both solar deductions as eliminated by Senate Enrolled Act 1, along with the wind, hydroelectric and geothermal device deductions:

Deduction	Indiana Code	Status
Solar energy heating or cooling systems	IC 6-1.1-12-26	Eliminated, retroactive to January 1, 2025
Solar power devices (including photovoltaic)	IC 6-1.1-12-26.1	Eliminated, retroactive to January 1, 2025

The DLGF says taxpayers can no longer apply for these deductions as of January 1, 2025, and county auditors stop applying them starting with the 2025-pay-2026 cycle. The statute text now limits the solar power device deduction to taxes for assessment dates before January 1, 2025, and says the section itself expires January 1, 2027. If you already had the deduction, check your next tax bill and ask your county auditor what to expect.

Net metering is gone for new Indiana customers

Indiana's 2017 law, Senate Enrolled Act 309, ended net metering for new customers of the largest investor-owned utilities, with a hard end date of July 1, 2022 and earlier exits allowed. CenterPoint's replacement credit took effect May 14, 2021. Today, new solar customers of AES Indiana, CenterPoint, Duke Energy Indiana, Indiana Michigan Power (I&M) and NIPSCO get an EDG credit instead, set at the utility's prior-year average marginal or wholesale energy price times 1.25.

Older systems are grandfathered. According to CenterPoint and Solar United Neighbors, systems installed by December 31, 2017 keep full retail net metering until July 1, 2047, and systems installed from 2018 until net metering ended keep it until July 1, 2032. For more, read our guide to net metering in Indiana.

Rural electric membership cooperatives (REMCs) and municipal utilities may still offer net metering, depending on local policy. If you are served by one, ask for its current terms.

Is the federal solar tax credit still available in Indiana?

Not for a new home system. In an August 2025 FAQ, the IRS says the Residential Clean Energy Credit (section 25D) is not allowed for any expenditures made after December 31, 2025, and that an expenditure is treated as made when the original installation is completed. A home system finished in 2026 does not qualify. Combined with the end of the property tax deductions, this means an Indiana homeowner installing solar in 2026 pays the full price with no tax help. Our explainer on the federal solar tax credit covers what changed, and our guide to solar savings without the federal tax credit shows how to rerun the numbers.

What still affects solar payback in Indiana

With no incentives to lean on, these are the levers that decide Indiana payback:

• Installed price. Every dollar off the price shortens payback directly, so get several itemized quotes.
• Self-consumption. Solar you use at home saves the full retail rate; exported power earns only the EDG credit, about 5 cents per kWh at AES Indiana and NIPSCO in 2026.
• System size. AES Indiana caps EDG systems at the lesser of 1 MW or your average annual use. A system sized beyond your daytime load mostly adds low-value exports.
• Minimum charges. EDG credits can only reduce your bill to the utility's monthly minimum charge.
• Moving. At AES Indiana and NIPSCO, unused EDG credits are forfeited if you leave the premises.
• Your retail rate. Higher rates raise the value of self-used solar. See our Indiana electricity rates page; the national average was 18.16¢ per kWh in August 2026.

For local production estimates, visit our Indiana solar panels page.

What an exported kWh is worth in Indiana

A quick calculation shows why self-use matters so much here. Suppose, as an illustration, a system exports 1,500 kWh over a year:

• At AES Indiana's EDG rate of 5.4325 cents, those exports earn about $81.49 in bill credits.
• At NIPSCO's 4.9685 cents, the same exports earn about $74.53.

If an installer's proposal values those 1,500 kWh at your full retail rate instead, it overstates first-year savings by the difference between the two rates on every exported kWh. Ask to see the split between self-used and exported energy in every savings estimate, and check that the export line uses your utility's current EDG rate. Because EDG rates are updated each year, a reasonable estimate also shows what happens if the rate moves up or down a little.

How to go solar in Indiana without incentives

1. Pull 12 months of bills and note your usage by month.
2. Ask your utility for its current EDG rate, minimum charge and interconnection fees. NIPSCO, for example, charges no application fee for systems of 25 kW and below.
3. Get at least three itemized quotes that value exports at the EDG rate, not the retail price.
4. Make sure no quote counts a federal tax credit or an Indiana property tax deduction.
5. Sign an interconnection agreement with your utility before you switch the system on.

Next steps

Treat any Indiana solar offer as a pure bill-savings investment. Check your utility's EDG rate, size the system to what you use, and run every quote through our solar quote checker before you sign.