The End of the 30% Solar Tax Credit Changes Everything
On December 31, 2025, the federal 25D 30% solar tax credit officially expired. For years, the credit masked deep structural problems in the residential solar financing market. Now those problems are fully exposed.
Homeowners are discovering that many solar deals were never built to survive without the tax credit. They were built to sell financing.
How “Low Rate” Solar Loans Really Worked
For more than a decade, many solar lenders promoted low single-digit interest rates that looked unbeatable on paper.
Those rates were not free.
To offer them, solar companies quietly added dealer fees of 20% to 40% to the cost of the solar system. The homeowner financed the inflated price, not the actual equipment.
This structure created two hidden risks.
First, the solar system was artificially overpriced from day one.
Second, the financing depended on the homeowner sending the entire 30% tax credit back to the solar lender.
The Month-18 Payment Cliff
Most homeowners were not clearly told what would happen next.
Around month 18, the loan would reset if the tax credit was not repaid in full. Monthly payments could jump sharply overnight. What looked affordable suddenly became unmanageable.
This was not a rare edge case. It was built into the loan design.
What the CFPB Found
These practices did not go unnoticed.
In its official Issue Spotlight on Solar Financing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) raised serious concerns about:
- Hidden dealer fees embedded in solar loan pricing
- Consumer confusion around tax credit repayment obligations
- Payment shock when tax credits were not applied as expected
- Aggressive sales practices that obscured true system costs
You can read the full CFPB report here:
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/issue-spotlight-solar-financing/
The takeaway was clear. Many homeowners did not understand the financial risk they were accepting.
Why the Post-25D World Forces a Reset
With the 30% tax credit gone, the old model collapses.
There is no longer a subsidy to hide inflated pricing. There is no cushion to absorb dealer fees. There is no justification for teaser rates tied to tax credit repayment.
Solar must now stand on real economics, not financial engineering.
Clear-Title Solar Is Built for the Post-25D Reality
Clear-Title Solar was never dependent on the tax credit to work.
There are no dealer fees.
There are no teaser rates.
There is no payment cliff.
The solar system is priced at its actual cost, not an inflated number designed to fund financing incentives.
When integrated into a mortgage or paid off directly, Clear-Title Solar remains tax deductible as mortgage interest, not as a temporary tax credit.
Most importantly, the homeowner owns the system outright with no UCC-1 liens, no third-party claims, and no refinancing traps.
Why Clear-Title Is the Future of Residential Solar
The post-25D era demands transparency.
Homebuyers, homeowners, and lenders now require:
- True system pricing
- Stable payments
- Clear ownership
- Financing that survives scrutiny
Clear-Title Solar is not a workaround. It is the correction.
As the industry moves beyond inflated systems and subsidy-driven sales, Clear-Title Solar stands as the only financing model designed to last.
The tax credit is gone. The illusion is over.
The future of solar is ownership, transparency, and Clear-Title.
