Through 2025, most residential solar advertising led with one number: 30%. That was the Residential Clean Energy Credit, and the IRS is plain that it is not available for any property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Its August 2025 FAQ closed the obvious workaround as well: if installation is completed after that date, the spending is treated as made after it, so a deposit paid in December did not carry the credit into a January install.
That leaves three honest stories, one for each way a homeowner can pay.
Cash. The price, the expected production and the bill it offsets. The EIA’s September 2026 outlook puts the average residential price at 17.30 cents per kWh in 2025 and forecasts 18.20 cents for 2026 and 18.59 cents for 2027. Rates differ widely by utility, so a savings claim should use the local rate, never the national one.
Loan. The cash price first, then the monthly figure. The CFPB’s 2024 review of solar financing found dealer fees that can raise principal 30 percent or more above the cash price, and loans built around a prepayment of typically 30 percent. With no homeowner credit this year, a buyer would have to find that prepayment somewhere else, so any loan quoted that way needs rechecking before a homeowner sees it.
Lease or PPA. The installer or a financier owns the system and may claim a business credit. IRS Notice 2025-42 ends the 48E and 45Y credits for solar placed in service after December 31, 2027 when construction begins after July 4, 2026. That credit lowers the owner’s cost. It is not a saving the homeowner claims, and copy that suggests otherwise repeats the old mistake in a new form. The FTC tells homeowners to ask themselves how long they plan to stay in the home, which is the right question for a system it says is designed to stay on a house for at least 20 years, and a fair one for your own FAQ to raise.
Whichever story fits the sale, the safe practice is the same: have your tax adviser approve any sentence that mentions a credit, keep the cash price in view, and update the page the day a rule changes.
The disclosures that travel with the ad. Money is half of it. The other half is what a state makes a solar seller say, print or hand over. Federal law sets the floor everywhere: the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule, 16 CFR Part 429, gives an in-home buyer three business days to back out. The eight states below each have a page of their own. None of this is legal advice, and these rules were read in October 2026, so have counsel check an ad, a script or a contract packet before it goes out.
- Arizona. A savings claim in an ad or a sales deck must be backed by how it was calculated, and the buyer gets at least three business days after signing, and before installation, to cancel (A.R.S. 44-1763). See the Arizona solar page.
- California. The CSLB’s solar disclosure document goes on top of the contract, and in the big investor-owned utility territories the customer signs the CPUC’s Solar Consumer Protection Guide, in Version 4 for contracts signed from December 15, 2026. See the California solar page.
- Illinois. The Illinois Shines handbook bars calling the program a rebate or a tax credit, or calling solar free unless the buyer owes nothing, and every channel says who is making the offer and that it has no utility tie. See the Illinois solar page.
- Maryland. An ad that claims a license uses “MHIC No.” or the commission’s full name with the number, under Business Regulation 8-615. See the Maryland solar page.
- Massachusetts. Under DOER’s SMART 3.0 consumer guideline, a lease or PPA must save at least 10% of the utility’s net metered value in year one, and its price may rise no more than 3% a year, which is a ceiling worth knowing before an ad promises savings. See the Massachusetts solar page.
- Minnesota. The license number appears in every ad, websites and online ads included, under Minn. Stat. 326B.87, and since January 1, 2025 an advertised price includes each mandatory fee (325D.44). See the Minnesota solar page.
- New Jersey. The home improvement registration number goes on every ad and contract, under N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.11. See the New Jersey solar page.
- Texas. Retailers and their reps have had to register with TDLR since September 1, 2026, buyers get five business days to cancel, a tax claim in an ad comes with advice to see an independent tax professional (16 TAC 71.52), and implying a tie to a utility is banned (Occupations Code 1806.201). See the Texas solar page.
So before a campaign starts we line up three things: the license or registration number your state wants on the ad, the cancel period your contract and install schedule have to respect, and every savings or tax sentence checked against the rule that governs it.
