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Can you still get a federal tax credit for a heat pump or new windows?

Check the installation date before counting a federal tax credit in your project plans. The IRS guidance and the tax code’s termination provisions are quoted below. Keep your installation records and product documents together when reviewing the return for the year the work was completed.

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.
Source: 26 U.S.C. 25C, Energy efficient home improvement credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

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By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources read: 22 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-22

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Key facts

What do the IRS and tax code say about the deadline?

The IRS says you can claim the credit for improvements made through December 31, 2025. Its page on the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit is quoted below in its own words, with the date the IRS gives for its last review.

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

The IRS page, read 22 October 2026, says: "You can claim the credit for improvements made through December 31, 2025." The page is marked "Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 28-Apr-2026".

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

The same page adds: "The credit is nonrefundable, so you can't get back more on the credit than you owe in taxes."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

Section 25C of the Internal Revenue Code, the energy efficient home improvement credit, ends with a subsection headed Termination. It is quoted below in its own words from the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), because the official U.S. Code site showed a maintenance page at the time of reading.

Source: 26 U.S.C. 25C, Energy efficient home improvement credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

26 U.S.C. 25C, read 22 October 2026 in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), says: "(i) Termination" "This section shall not apply with respect to any property placed in service after December 31, 2025."

Source: 26 U.S.C. 25C, Energy efficient home improvement credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

The section's list of source credits ends with "Pub. L. 119–21, title VII, § 70505, July 4, 2025, 139 Stat. 251."

Source: 26 U.S.C. 25C, Energy efficient home improvement credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

In our reading, a heat pump or windows placed in service after the termination date quoted here fall outside the tax code section as quoted here. A tax professional can tell you how that applies to your own return.

Does a geothermal heat pump fall under a different credit?

Yes. ENERGY STAR lists geothermal heat pumps under the Residential Clean Energy credit, which it says is also ending December 31, 2025, and section 25D has its own Termination subsection. Both are quoted below.

Source: ENERGY STAR, Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, read 22 October 2026.
Source: 26 U.S.C. 25D, Residential clean energy credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

ENERGY STAR's federal tax credits page, read 22 October 2026, says: "In addition to the energy efficiency credits, homeowners can also take advantage of the modified and extended Residential Clean Energy credit, which provides a 30 percent income tax credit for clean energy equipment, such as rooftop solar, wind energy, geothermal heat pumps and battery storage, also ending December 31, 2025."

Source: ENERGY STAR, Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, read 22 October 2026.

26 U.S.C. 25D, read 22 October 2026 in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), says: "(h) Termination" "The credit allowed under this section shall not apply with respect to any expenditures made after December 31, 2025."

Source: 26 U.S.C. 25D, Residential clean energy credit, in the Cornell Legal Information Institute's online copy (not the official code), read 22 October 2026.

Can you still claim work installed during 2025?

On the return for the year it was installed. The IRS says you must claim the credit for the tax year when the property is installed, not merely purchased; that rule and the 2025 manufacturer requirement are quoted below.

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

Under How to claim the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, the IRS page says: "File Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits Part II, with your tax return to claim the credit." and "You must claim the credit for the tax year when the property is installed, not merely purchased."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

On 2025 installations, it says: "In 2025, for each item of qualifying property placed in service, no credit will be allowed unless the item was produced by a qualified manufacturer and the taxpayer reports the Qualified Manufacturer Identification Number (QMID) for the item on their tax return."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

ENERGY STAR's page puts the manufacturer step this way: "Because manufacturer registration is in process, it will be sufficient, for installations in 2025, to simply include the manufacturer’s four-digit QM code on your 2025 tax return." and "This applies to heat pumps (outdoor unit only), water heaters, CAC, boilers, furnaces, biomass stoves, windows, doors and skylights."

Source: ENERGY STAR, Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, read 22 October 2026.

In our reading, the IRS and ENERGY STAR pages describe the manufacturer number in different terms, so check the IRS form instructions for your tax year, or ask a tax professional, before you file.

What did a heat pump or new windows need to qualify?

An efficiency tier for heat pumps and an Energy Star Most Efficient certification for windows, on the IRS page. Each requirement is quoted below with the limit the IRS gives, along with its rule on which home counts.

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

For heat pumps, the IRS page says: "Heat pumps that meet or exceed the CEE highest efficiency tier, not including any advanced tier, in effect at the beginning of the year when the property is installed, and biomass stoves and boilers with a thermal efficiency rating of at least 75% qualify for a credit up to $2,000 per year." and "Costs may include labor for installation."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

For windows, it says: "Exterior windows and skylights that meet Energy Star Most Efficient certification requirements. Credit is limited to $600 total." and "Labor costs for installing building envelope components don't qualify for the credit."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

On the home, it lists "An existing home that you improve or add onto, not a new home" and says: "In most cases, the home must be your primary residence (where you live the majority of the year)."

Source: IRS, Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, read 22 October 2026.

What should you check before you sign for this work now?

Confirm any federal credit against the sources above before it shapes which bid you pick, and keep the paperwork that a claim would need. This is practical reasoning, not legal advice and not a finding from any agency.

  1. If a seller or contractor mentions a federal tax credit for work installed now, ask which IRS page it relies on, and compare it with the dates quoted above.
  2. For work installed before the termination date quoted above, keep the invoice that shows the installation date, separate from any order or delivery date.
  3. Keep the model numbers and any manufacturer code from the box, the label or the invoice.
  4. If you did not claim eligible work on the return for the year it was installed, ask a tax professional what your options are.
  5. Look up state, city and utility programs separately; this page quotes federal sources only.
  6. Compare bids on the equipment and the work, with the same model numbers and efficiency ratings written into each one.

Who sees your contact details when you post on InstaBids?

When you ask for bids on a heat pump or new windows, you describe your home and the work. Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 22 October 2026.

Post your job on InstaBids, and contractors can bid in writing on one written scope.

Homeowners anywhere in the US can post a job; once you send it, InstaBids finds contractors to bid on it.

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