The Prepaid Lease
The tax credit is gone. The way to keep its value is not.
As of 2026, homeowners can no longer claim the federal solar tax credit on a system they buy. The Prepaid Lease is how you still capture that value: a third party owns the system and captures the credit, its value is built into your price, your payment is fixed and never climbs, and after year five you have the option to buy the system at its market value.
What changed
Buying solar the old way now leaves money on the table.
For years, the federal government gave homeowners a tax credit worth roughly a third of the cost of a solar system. Recent law ended that credit for systems a homeowner buys directly. If you purchase with cash or a standard loan today, that value is simply gone.
It has not disappeared for everyone. The credit still applies to solar that is owned by a third party and leased to you. The Prepaid Lease is built around exactly that structure, so the value flows back into your deal as an upfront discount rather than being lost.
Same panels. Same installer. A structure that keeps what the tax law took away from buyers.
How the Prepaid Lease works
Keep the credit. Pay a fixed monthly. Option to buy after year five.
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The credit is built into your price
A third party owns the system, which is what preserves the federal credit that home buyers can no longer claim on their own. That value is built into your price at the start, working for you from day one instead of on a future tax return.
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You finance the plan, not a lump sum
You do not write a large check. The prepaid amount can be financed into one predictable monthly payment, so there is little or nothing out of pocket to get started. Prepaying is what eliminates the escalator, so your payment is fixed for the full term and never climbs.
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After year five, a buyout option
At year five you have the option to buy the system at its market value. The buyout option and its terms are spelled out in your agreement before you sign, so nothing about it is a surprise.
The Prepaid Lease is available today in AZ, CA, CO, FL, HI, ID, MA, NJ, NY, TX, UT, and WA — 12 states. Where it is not offered, we present an equivalent financing option. Plan terms, the buyout option, and tax treatment are spelled out in your agreement.
You still choose how to pay
Three honest options. We show the real math on all of them.
The Prepaid Lease is what we recommend for most homeowners now that the credit is gone for buyers, because it keeps that value in your deal. If cash or a conventional loan is a better fit for your situation, we will show you that plainly, with the numbers side by side.
The Prepaid Lease
A third party owns the system and captures the tax credit for you — it's built into your price. Your payment is fixed and never climbs, and after year five you have the option to buy the system at its market value. Available as financed ($0 down) or paid once.
Solar loan
Own the system from day one with a conventional loan. Straightforward, though a buyer no longer captures the federal credit — no federal credit applies.
Cash
Own it from day one. Lowest lifetime cost if you have the capital, with the fastest payback — no federal credit applies. We show you the true numbers so you can compare.
Regular lease
A third party owns and maintains the system and passes the credit value through as a lower payment — but the payment increases every year, and there is no buyout option. We show it for the full picture; it usually costs the most over time.
See your Prepaid Lease payment for your roof.
Enter your address and we will show your real price and monthly payment in about 90 seconds. No phone number, no sales call.
Want the background first? Read how the tax credit changed.