Colorado Solar and Battery Incentives in 2026

Under C.R.S. 39-26-724, qualifying solar components — modules, inverters, racking, wiring and controls — are exempt from Colorado’s state sales and use tax. The legislature removed the exemption’s sunset in 2022 (HB22-1312), so there’s no expiration date to race. Labor, storage and monitoring aren’t covered by this particular exemption.

Local taxes are a separate matter. City, county and special-district sales taxes are generally not waived by the state exemption, and home-rule cities decide for themselves. Boulder, for example, runs a rebate that returns a portion of city sales and use tax on solar and battery materials and permits if you apply within 12 months.

Residential battery storage has its own state sales and use tax exemption under C.R.S. 39-26-733, which runs until January 1, 2033.

Colorado’s residential energy storage credit (C.R.S. 39-22-546) is 10% of a home battery’s purchase price for tax years 2023 through 2026, as extended by SB25-026. Purchase price means equipment, sales tax and freight; installation labor and permits don’t count. The credit is nonrefundable, meaning it only offsets state tax you owe, unless it’s assigned to the seller.

The practical deadline is the end of tax year 2026. If you’re weighing a battery, the question to settle with your tax preparer is when your system counts as purchased and installed for this credit, and to plan the install date accordingly.

Colorado law is generally understood to exempt residential solar systems of 100 kW AC or less that primarily serve the home from property tax as personal property. We’re confident about the principle but still confirming the exact statutory citation, so we don’t quote a section number here. If property tax on your system matters to your decision, ask your county assessor how they treat it.

An HOA covenant that effectively prohibits solar is void in Colorado. An HOA may impose aesthetic restrictions only if they don’t raise the system’s cost by more than 10% or cut its performance by more than 10%. If the HOA doesn’t act on your application within 60 days, it’s deemed approved, and a denial has to be explained.

The statute clearly covers solar, wind, geothermal and heat pumps. Batteries and EV chargers aren’t clearly named, so treat those as a conversation with your HOA rather than a guaranteed right. Our HOA guide covers how to submit an application that gets approved.

Fort Collins Utilities has offered $300 per kW for solar (up to $1,500) and $300 per kWh for solar-paired batteries (up to $6,000), with a $7,500 combined cap and participating-contractor requirements. Black Hills Energy has offered income-qualified solar rebates and per-kWh production incentives. La Plata Electric, Gunnison County Electric and Holy Cross Energy have offered battery incentives. Xcel’s Renewable Battery Connect has paid per-kW incentives for batteries enrolled in grid events, at amounts that have stepped down.

Some programs have closed. The City of Golden’s 2026 solar and battery rebates are closed (its EV charger rebates remained open), and Colorado’s HEAR home-energy rebates stopped accepting new single-family applications in Region 1 in April 2026. Denver has offered rebates through its climate office, but we couldn’t confirm current status, so we don’t claim them. Always confirm with the program itself before signing a contract.

The 30% federal homeowner credit (§25D) ended for systems whose installation was completed after December 31, 2025. The remaining federal value flows through leases and PPAs, where the system owner can claim §48E for solar placed in service by the end of 2027, and through storage, which keeps a longer runway. Our federal guide explains the details and the open legal questions.