The date that decides this is not the day you signed the contract or paid a deposit. It is the day the system was placed in service, meaning installed, commissioned and ready to run. A Brighton homeowner who signed a proposal in November 2025 and had the equipment started up in February 2026 lands on the wrong side of that line.

What does "placed in service" mean for a heat pump installed in 2026?

Placed in service means the heat pump is installed at your Brighton home and ready for use, not merely ordered or paid for. The Internal Revenue Service states on its Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit page that the credit applies to qualifying property placed in service through December 31, 2025. A 2026 start-up date therefore falls outside the credit, no matter when the deposit cleared.

The same cutoff reaches geothermal. Ground source heat pump property sat under Section 25D, the Residential Clean Energy Credit, and the IRS states that credit does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025. So when people search for a heat pump tax credit 2026, there is no federal successor waiting behind it. The honest summary is that the 25C credit ended for this equipment, and the remaining help is at the state and utility level.

Can you still claim 25C on a 2025 installation when you file in 2026?

Yes. The credit is claimed for the tax year the equipment was placed in service, so a heat pump finished in 2025 goes on the 2025 return you file in 2026. You report it on IRS Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits. Pull the file before you sit down with your preparer.

• The itemized invoice showing the equipment, the labor and the completion date.
• The manufacturer documentation for the model that was installed.
• Any identifying product information your installer provided, since the Form 5695 instructions set out what must be reported.
• The permit paperwork, if a permit was pulled through the Town of Brighton.

Confirm the details with a tax professional rather than with your HVAC salesperson. Contractors sell equipment. They do not file your return.

What is still available to an RG&E customer in Brighton?

NYS Clean Heat is the statewide heat pump program delivered through participating utilities, and for most Brighton addresses that utility is RG&E. The program is described at cleanheat.ny.gov, the official NYS Clean Heat site, which also hosts the participating contractor locator. The mechanics are different from a tax credit in one way that changes how you shop: the contractor applies, not you.

That distinction matters. A tax credit is money you chase after the fact, months later, on a return. A NYS Clean Heat rebate through RG&E is handled by the installer and normally shows up as a line on the proposal, which means the wrong contractor choice can cost you the incentive entirely.

How the NYS Clean Heat rebate reaches your invoice

Treat the rebate as part of the bidding process rather than as a bonus you sort out later. Here is the order of operations for a heat pump rebate in Brighton NY.

1. Confirm which utility serves the property, since the program is administered through participating utilities and RG&E covers most of Brighton.
2. Use the contractor locator at cleanheat.ny.gov to build a shortlist of participating contractors, rather than assuming any HVAC company is enrolled.
3. Ask each contractor to state in writing that they are a participating NYS Clean Heat contractor and that they will submit the application.
4. Ask which measure category the proposal falls under, because ducted, ductless, partial home, whole home, ground source and heat pump water heater projects are treated separately.
5. Request the current incentive amount for that category in writing, shown as a line item on the proposal, not quoted verbally.
6. Confirm whether the incentive is deducted from your price up front or passed through after the utility processes the application.
7. Confirm the contractor pulls any required permit in their own name through the Town of Brighton building department.
8. File the signed proposal, the rebate paperwork, the permit and the commissioning report where you can find them again when you sell.

Why this post does not quote a rebate amount

Incentive levels under NYS Clean Heat are set by measure category and by program period, and they are revised over time. Publishing a dollar figure here would invite a Brighton homeowner to budget against a number that may already have changed. The reliable version of that number is the one on a current, signed proposal from a participating contractor, cross checked against the program information at cleanheat.ny.gov.

Apply the same skepticism to any blog, sales flyer or forum post that quotes a heat pump incentive without a date attached. If it does not say which program year it covers, it is not usable for planning.

What a heat pump changes at resale

Heating and cooling is one of the first specifics a buyer's agent pulls up on a Brighton listing, alongside the age of the roof and the condition of the windows. A heat pump changes three things in that conversation. It records a recent installation date rather than an aging furnace. It adds central cooling in homes that had none. It shifts part of the heating load onto the electric bill, which buyers will ask about.

None of that is automatically a premium at closing, and no one should install equipment expecting to recover the cost dollar for dollar. What it does do is remove a known near term expense from a buyer's mental math, and it gives your agent something documented to put in front of an appraiser. That only works if the paperwork exists. Keep the proposal, the rebate approval, the permit and the manufacturer warranty registration together in one folder.

If you are weighing a heat pump against other projects before listing a Brighton home, or you bought recently and want to know which upgrades the local market actually notices, reach out. Schedule a time to talk with Khem Kadariya and we will go through the house and the timing together.

Frequently asked questions

Can Brighton NY homeowners still claim a federal tax credit for a heat pump installed in 2026?

No. Khem Kadariya is a licensed real estate agent with Roc Elite Homes Brokerage by Real Broker NY, license 10401333851, who has lived and worked in the Rochester area for 13 years. The federal 25C credit covers heat pumps placed in service by December 31, 2025, so a 2026 installation does not qualify. Brighton homeowners served by RG&E can still pursue NYS Clean Heat rebates, which a participating contractor files on their behalf.

Who applies for the NYS Clean Heat rebate, me or my contractor?

The contractor does. NYS Clean Heat is delivered through participating contractors who submit the application and supporting paperwork to the utility, which is RG&E for most Brighton addresses. That is why the first question to ask any installer is whether they are a participating NYS Clean Heat contractor, and you can check names against the contractor locator at cleanheat.ny.gov before you sign anything.

I had a heat pump installed in December 2025. Which tax year do I claim it on?

The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit is claimed for the tax year the property was placed in service, so equipment finished and running in December 2025 belongs on your 2025 return, which you file in 2026. You claim it on IRS Form 5695. Keep the invoice, the manufacturer documentation and the commissioning paperwork, and have your tax preparer confirm what identifying information the form requires.

Does a heat pump matter when I sell a Brighton NY home?

Heating and cooling equipment is one of the first things a buyer's agent asks about, and the listing data for a Brighton home usually records the heating type and the age of the system. A recently installed heat pump means the buyer is not budgeting for a furnace replacement in the near term. Hold on to the proposal, permit, rebate paperwork and warranty registration so the file can be handed over at closing.

Are there still incentives for geothermal or a heat pump water heater?

The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Section 25D, which covered geothermal heat pump property, does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025, according to the IRS. NYS Clean Heat treats ground source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters as separate measure categories with their own incentive levels. Ask a participating contractor to show you the current category and amount in writing on the proposal.