Where the numbers on this site come from

Every dollar amount, income threshold, and eligibility rule published here is traced back to a document written by the body that actually administers the program. We do not paraphrase other websites, and we do not repeat a figure because it appears in several places. If a number is on this site, someone read it in the source and linked to that source.

The three tiers we rely on

Tier 1: statute and federal regulation. The text of the law itself. For home energy rebates this means the Inflation Reduction Act provisions that created the two federal rebate programs, and the sections of the Internal Revenue Code that create the energy efficiency and residential clean energy tax credits. Statute sets the ceilings that no state or utility can exceed.

Tier 2: federal agency instruments. Program requirements, guidance documents, and application materials published by the U.S. Department of Energy for the rebate programs, and forms, instructions, and published guidance from the Internal Revenue Service for the tax credits. These documents translate the statute into rules an administrator has to follow.

Tier 3: the administering body’s own program documents. For state rebates this is the state energy office program manual, the participating contractor handbook, and the published measure and incentive tables. For utility programs it is the rebate schedule or tariff posted by that utility. This tier is where the number a household actually receives lives, and it is the tier that changes most often.

Where a state has not yet published a Tier 3 document, we say so rather than substituting a federal maximum. A statutory ceiling is not a promise of what your state will pay you.

What we refuse to use

• Contractor and installer blogs. These exist to sell an installation, and they routinely quote the federal maximum as though every household received it.
• Lead generation sites and rebate finder databases that do not link to a primary document.
• Manufacturer and equipment vendor marketing pages.
• Law firm and marketing agency content pages.
• Any page whose figures cannot be traced back to a named administering body.
• Other sites like this one, including this one. Nothing published here is a source for anything.

How we quote

Each figure carries a short verbatim quote from the source document, under fifteen words, and a link to that document. If we cannot produce the quote, the figure does not get published. Where a document is undated, or where its most recent revision predates the current program year, we flag the date beside the citation so you can weigh it yourself.

When the official source does not publish a number

We write that it is not published, and we list the specific pages we checked. We do not estimate, we do not average what other sites claim, and we do not carry a figure forward from a prior program year. An honest gap is more useful to you than a plausible invention, because you can act on the first and not on the second.

Re-verification schedule

• Federal tax credit amounts and qualifying equipment criteria: at every change in IRS guidance, and at minimum once per calendar year.
• State rebate program amounts and income tiers: quarterly, and immediately when a state announces a launch, a pause, or funding exhaustion.
• Utility rebate schedules: quarterly, since these move on each utility’s own filing calendar rather than a federal one.
• Contractor and eligibility requirements: whenever the administering body reissues its program manual.

Pages carry the date they were last verified. If a page has not been checked within the last quarter, treat its Tier 3 figures as indicative and confirm with the administrator before you spend money.

If we are wrong

Tell us, and point at the document. Corrections are made in place, with a note recording what changed and when. Reach us at [email protected].