Missouri solar incentives have thinned out heading into 2026. The federal residential clean energy credit, which paid 30% of installation costs, expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the state’s solar property tax exemption was struck down in 2022. What’s left for Missouri homeowners is still meaningful: guaranteed net metering with every utility in the state, rebate programs from Evergy and Ameren, and HOA protections that the Missouri Supreme Court strengthened in January 2026.
Federal Tax Credit: Gone for New Systems
Section 25D of the Internal Revenue Code gave a 30% credit on residential solar equipment and installation labor for systems placed in service from 2022 through December 31, 2025. Federal legislation enacted in 2025 ended the credit for expenditures made after that date and wiped out the step-down schedule that had been expected to extend a reduced credit through 2034.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25D – Residential Clean Energy Credit
If your system was installed before the end of 2025, you can still claim it. The credit is nonrefundable, so it can zero out your tax bill but won’t produce a refund by itself. Anything you can’t use carries forward with no stated deadline, so a homeowner with modest tax liability eventually captures the full amount.2Internal Revenue Service. Residential Clean Energy Credit Battery storage with at least 3 kilowatt-hours of capacity also qualified when installed at a residence before the deadline, even if added to an existing array.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25D – Residential Clean Energy Credit
Claim it on IRS Form 5695 with your return. Keep itemized receipts from the installer showing equipment, labor, and permitting costs, and hold onto the manufacturer’s certification statement in case of audit.3Internal Revenue Service. About Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits4ENERGY STAR. Tax Credit Definitions
Net Metering Is Guaranteed by State Law
Missouri’s Net Metering and Easy Connection Act requires every utility in the state to offer net metering to customers whose solar, wind, or small hydro systems generate 100 kilowatts or less.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 386.890 – Net Metering and Easy Connection Act This is now the most valuable ongoing incentive for a residential system.
A bidirectional meter tracks what you pull from the grid and what your panels send back. Generation that offsets your own usage is credited at the full retail rate. Anything beyond what you consume in a billing period carries over at a lower, wholesale rate.5Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 386.890 – Net Metering and Easy Connection Act In practice this means the grid acts as your backup. Midday overproduction banks credits; evening and overnight draw spends them. A properly sized system usually produces a much lower bill rather than a zero bill, because excess generation isn’t credited at the same rate your usage is.
You enroll through your utility once the system has passed interconnection and received its Permission to Operate letter. You cannot export power or earn net metering credits before that letter is issued.
Utility Rebates From Evergy and Ameren
Some Missouri utilities cut the upfront cost through rebates. Evergy offers a solar power rebate for residential and business customers in its Missouri territory,6Evergy. What Is the Solar Power Rebate and Ameren Missouri runs a customer-owned solar program for homeowners who install panels on their property.7Ameren. Customer-Owned Solar
Rebate rates, size limits, and funding availability shift year to year, and many programs have annual caps that close enrollment once hit. Call your utility before you sign a contract with an installer. Confirm the current per-watt rate, whether money is still available, and the application timing. Most programs require pre-approval before installation starts, and submitting afterward usually means missing out.
Rebates typically arrive as a one-time payment or a credit spread across several billing cycles. Keep copies of every application and approval notice. If the rebate doesn’t appear in the window your utility promised, follow up in writing so the delay is documented.
HOA Can’t Ban Your Panels
Missouri Section 442.404.3, in effect since January 1, 2023, bars deed restrictions, covenants, and similar agreements from limiting or prohibiting the installation of solar panels on a rooftop owned and maintained by the homeowner.8Missouri Senate. Senate Bill 820 An HOA can still set reasonable placement rules, but those rules can’t prevent installation, impair the system’s function, restrict its use, or hurt its cost or efficiency.
In January 2026 the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously held in Eikmeier v. Granite Springs Homeowners Association that the statute applies retroactively, reaching covenants that existed before the law took effect. The HOA in that case tried to confine panels to the non-street-facing side of the roof, which would have cut annual output by 24% and added nearly $17,000 to the homeowner’s cost to match the production the original placement would have delivered. The court found the restriction adversely affected cost and efficiency and ruled it unenforceable.9FindLaw. Eikmeier v Granite Springs Home Owners Association
If your HOA pushes back, the Eikmeier reasoning is the point to raise. A rule that forces panels onto a shaded or badly angled roof section is the kind of restriction the court said the statute forbids.
Property Tax Is No Longer Exempt
Missouri’s solar property tax exemption is gone. Section 137.100(10) once classified solar energy systems as exempt from property tax, but the Missouri Supreme Court struck that provision down in Johnson v. Springfield Solar 1, LLC in 2022 as unconstitutional under Article X, Section 6 of the Missouri Constitution.10Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 137.100 – Certain Property Exempt From Taxes The State Tax Commission confirmed afterward that solar systems are no longer excluded from property tax assessment.11State Tax Commission of Missouri. Assessment of Solar Property Post Supreme Court Decision
Adding panels may raise your assessed value and your annual tax bill. How much depends on your county assessor’s method and the size of the system. A $20,000 installation usually won’t add $20,000 to your assessed value, because assessors factor in depreciation and the distinction between personal property and real property improvements, but the increase is no longer zero. Build this into your payback math.
Solar Easements for Sunlight Access
Missouri treats the right to use solar energy as a property right, but it doesn’t guarantee that right automatically. The state does not recognize prescriptive or implied rights to sunlight. If a neighbor’s tree or new addition shades your panels later, you have no legal recourse unless you obtained a written solar easement first.12Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 442.012 – Solar Easements
A valid easement has to be in writing, must spell out the vertical and horizontal angles in degrees that define the protected solar window, and must state the terms for granting or terminating it along with any compensation for violations. Both parties sign, it’s notarized, and it’s recorded with the county recorder of deeds. An unrecorded easement binds only the original parties and won’t travel with the land if your neighbor sells.12Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 442.012 – Solar Easements
Most homeowners never bother. It’s worth doing if tall structures or mature trees sit on neighboring lots to the south of your planned array. The main cost is attorney and recording fees. Waiting until shading actually becomes a problem leaves you with no leverage.
Tell Your Insurer
Panels change your coverage picture. Roof-mounted systems are generally covered under dwelling coverage as part of the structure. Ground-mounted panels or panels on a detached garage may fall under other structures coverage. Either way, the insurer will likely raise your limits to reflect the replacement cost of the system, which raises your premium.
Some insurers offer a rider specifically for solar equipment, worth asking about if your standard coverage doesn’t fully reflect the system’s value. If you lease rather than own, your homeowners policy typically won’t cover the panels at all, because the leasing company owns them. Owned or leased, notify your insurance company when the panels go up. A claim denied for failure to disclose a material change to the property is a painful way to learn this one.