Yes, the federal heat pump tax credit is gone. The 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, worth up to $2,000 on qualifying heat pumps plus up to $600 on certain other equipment, ended for anything placed in service after December 31, 2025, killed by the budget law signed in July 2025. The companion 25D residential clean energy credit ended on the same date. There is no federal heat pump tax credit for a 2026 install, and any website or quote that says otherwise is out of date. The rest of this guide is what is still on the table in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine, every figure verified on the programs' own sites in July 2026.
What exactly expired, and why do so many sites still advertise it?
The 25C credit let homeowners claim up to $2,000 back at tax time on qualifying heat pump installs, and it drove a lot of 2024 and 2025 decisions. The law that ended it passed in July 2025 with a hard cutoff: equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025 gets nothing. The IRS's own guidance says it plainly, and Mass Save's heat pump page now carries the same expiry note. The stale marketing is everywhere because nobody rushes to delete their best-performing selling point. We would rather tell you the truth in the first paragraph and earn the quote: for 2026, the help is state and regional, not federal.
What is still real in New Hampshire in 2026?
Three programs, verified July 2026. First, NHSaves: the standard rebate pays $250 per ton up to 5 tons, about $1,250 on most projects, for Eversource, Liberty, and Unitil electric customers installing qualifying equipment, plus $85 for a Wi-Fi thermostat and $900 on a qualifying heat pump water heater. The enhanced rate of $2,000 per ton exists only for homes replacing permanent electric-resistance heat, and it requires pre-verification at NHSaves.com/GetVerified before install. The full qualification walkthrough is in How Do You Qualify for the NHSaves Heat Pump Rebate?.
Second, NH HEAR: the income-qualified federal electrification rebates administered by the NH Department of Energy reach up to $8,000 on heat pump space heating and up to $1,750 on a heat pump water heater. Income limits apply and funding status is confirmed at intake. Third, the New England Heat Pump Accelerator, a regional grant-funded program that delivers instant point-of-sale discounts through participating distributors and can stack with NHSaves. If you are pricing a system anywhere in our New Hampshire territory, these three are the whole list.
What if you are in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts remains the strongest rebate territory in New England, verified July 2026. Mass Save pays $2,650 per ton up to $8,500 on qualifying whole-home heat pumps, where the heat pump becomes the sole heating and cooling source, with weatherization and a verification form required and the installer in the program's network. JP Karos is a Mass Save Heat Pump Installer Network (HPIN) contractor, so the network requirement is already met when we quote the job. Partial-home installs, keeping your boiler or furnace as backup, earn $1,125 per ton up to the same $8,500 cap, with a $500 weatherization bonus and a $500 sizing bonus available. Income-qualified households can reach up to $16,000 or a no-cost pathway. And the HEAT Loan finances $500 to $25,000 at 0% for up to 7 years on qualifying work. One footnote: the $10,000 whole-home figure people remember was the 2025 level; 2026 is $8,500. Details for our Merrimack Valley readers live on the Massachusetts service page.
And Maine?
Efficiency Maine runs the cleanest tier system in the region, verified July 2026: whole-home ducted heat pump rebates of $3,000 at any income, $6,000 at moderate income, and $9,000 at low income, with single-wide mobile homes reaching up to $12,900. Whole-home projects using other system types, including ductless, earn $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000 per rebate-eligible outdoor unit on the same income tiers. There is also a limited-time bonus of $500 per housing unit for whole-home upgrades completed and claimed between March 1 and December 31, 2026. We cover York County minutes from the bridge; see the Maine service page.
How do you avoid getting burned by stale rebate promises?
- Any 2026 quote showing a federal tax credit line is wrong. Ask the contractor to remove it and requote, then watch how they handle being checked.
- Rebates are per ton and program-capped, so the quote should show tonnage, the program rate, and the cap, not a round feel-good number.
- Eligibility is confirmed before you sign, never assumed. Utility, income tier, equipment list status, and pre-verification steps all change the answer.
- The rebate is your discount, not the contractor's markup. Gross price and rebate belong on separate lines you can check.
What does this mean for your actual quote?
It means the state you live in matters more than ever: the same whole-home conversion carries a potential rebate range from about $1,250 standard in New Hampshire to $8,500 in Massachusetts and up to $9,000 in Maine by income tier. Our estimate engine branches on your state and shows the potential rebate beside the gross range for the heat pump system you are considering, in 90 seconds, before anyone visits your basement. That is the whole play: honest numbers first, site visit to confirm.
