Clean Energy Tax Credits for Individuals
Most of the credits individuals have heard about have ended or changed, and the ones that remain come with limits. Here is a plain guide to what is left, and who can actually use it.
What Changed
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, ended or shortened most federal clean energy credits. Older articles, including ones still ranking in search, may describe credits you can no longer claim.
Home Solar and Batteries
The 30% residential clean energy credit (Section 25D) does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025.
Electric Vehicles
The new and used clean vehicle credits (Sections 30D and 25E) do not apply to vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.
EV Chargers
The refueling property credit (Section 30C), for home and commercial chargers alike, does not apply to property placed in service after June 30, 2026.
Commercial Solar
The investment credit (Section 48E) continues for projects that began construction by July 4, 2026 and meet the continuity rules. A solar project that began later must be placed in service by December 31, 2027. Foreign entity restrictions also apply.
Commercial Energy Storage
Storage kept a longer runway under Section 48E than solar, subject to foreign entity restrictions. Eligibility depends on when a project begins construction and how it is sourced, so it is confirmed project by project.
The Rule That Matters Most
For an individual, the first question is usually not whether a credit exists. It is whether you can use it against your own tax bill.
Under the passive activity rules (Section 469), a credit from a business you do not materially participate in can generally offset only tax on passive income. If most of your income is wages, a passive credit may do little or nothing for you this year. Unused credits generally carry forward until you have passive income or dispose of your interest.
This catches many individuals by surprise, because it applies even when the credit is real and the project is sound. It also applies to individuals who buy transferred credits: Treasury declined to exempt them.
Three Ways Individuals Reach Project Credits
None of these fits everyone. The right answer may be none of them, and your own tax advisor should weigh in on that.
| Buying a transferred credit | Passive investor | Active general partner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Pay cash for a credit a project owner sells under Section 6418 | Own an interest in a project entity, with no role in running it | Own a general partner interest and take a real part in running the project |
| Usable against wage tax? | Generally not, unless you materially participate in the business that earned it | Generally not | Possibly, only if you actually meet a material participation test each year |
| Who it tends to suit | Taxpayers with substantial passive income | Taxpayers with substantial passive income | People with the time and appetite for real work and real liability |
| Biggest risk | Recapture falls on the buyer | Credits sit unused for years, and the investment is illiquid | Personal liability, and failing the participation tests |
What Material Participation Takes
It is tested every year, on hours you can document. The most common tests are:
- More than 500 hours in the activity during the year.
- More than 100 hours, and at least as many as anyone else in the activity, including non-owners.
- Substantially all of the participation in the activity.
Hours spent as an investor, such as reviewing reports you did not help prepare or monitoring finances, generally do not count unless you are directly involved in day-to-day management. A log built at year-end is weak evidence. Keep it as you go.
Other Limits to Raise With Your Advisor
- General partner liability: a general partner can be personally liable for the partnership's debts and obligations.
- Recapture: part of an investment credit can be taken back if a project is sold or stops operating within five years.
- Credit limit: the general business credit limit caps how much of your tax a credit can offset in one year.
- At-risk rules: certain nonrecourse financing can reduce the credit you are allowed.
- Excess business losses: losses that offset wages are capped each year.
- State tax: your state may not follow the federal treatment.
How Helios Fits In
Helios develops and operates solar, storage, and EV charging projects, and works with individuals who want an active role in them as general partners. It is a commitment rather than a tax product, so it is not for everyone.
This page is general information, last reviewed in November 2026, and tax law changes. It is not tax, legal, or investment advice. Helios Charging and its affiliates do not provide tax or legal advice. Whether you can use any credit, deduction, or loss depends on your circumstances, the structure of a particular project, and current law and IRS guidance. Consult your own independent advisors.
This page is not an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security. Any offering would be made only through definitive offering documents and only to eligible investors. Investments in private energy projects are illiquid and may lose value, and no tax outcome or return is guaranteed.