Does a Metal Roof Qualify for Energy Tax Credits?

A standard metal roof does not qualify for a federal metal roof tax credit if it was installed in 2026 or later, because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended both residential energy credits for property installed after December 31, 2025.¹ If you installed a qualifying metal roof before 2023, or a solar-integrated roofing system any time through the end of 2025, you may still claim a credit on the return for that year or on an amended return.

What Changed in 2026

Two federal credits used to touch roofing. Section 25C, the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, covered building envelope items like insulation, windows, and doors. Section 25D, the Residential Clean Energy Credit, covered solar and other clean energy systems on homes. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 had extended both into the 2030s, but the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, moved the cutoff to December 31, 2025.¹

For a solar roofing system to count under Section 25D, the IRS has said the installation itself had to be physically complete and in use by December 31, 2025. Paying for the system before that date is not enough on its own.²

Standard Metal Roofs Installed Before 2023

Under the older version of Section 25C, a metal roof qualified if it had pigmented coatings or cooling granules designed to reduce heat gain and met the Energy Star requirements in effect when you bought it. The credit was 10% of the material cost, labor excluded, and it was subject to a $500 lifetime cap covering all qualifying energy improvements together, not just roofing.³

If you installed a qualifying roof during those years and never claimed the credit, you can amend the return for that tax year. The IRS generally allows amended returns within three years of the original filing deadline, or two years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.

Standard Metal Roofs Installed From 2023 Through 2025

The Inflation Reduction Act rewrote Section 25C for 2023 onward. The credit rate rose to 30% and the annual limit for building envelope work went up to $1,200. But the updated list of qualifying building envelope components was narrower: exterior windows, skylights, exterior doors, and insulation or air sealing materials. Metal roofs were dropped, reflective coatings and Energy Star rating notwithstanding.⁴

So a plain metal roof put on between 2023 and the end of 2025 gets no Section 25C credit at all.

Metal Roofs With Integrated Solar

A metal roof with built-in solar cells or solar shingles that generate electricity is a different product for tax purposes. These systems qualified for the Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit through December 31, 2025. The statute says solar panels installed as part of a roof do not lose eligibility just because they also serve as a structural component of the building.⁵

The credit was 30% of the total cost, materials and labor combined, including on-site preparation, assembly, installation, and the wiring needed to connect the system to your home.⁵ There was no dollar cap. A $30,000 qualifying solar roof installed in 2025 supports a $9,000 credit.

Financing costs such as loan interest, origination fees, and extended warranty charges do not count as qualified expenditures. Only the equipment, installation labor, and related wiring or piping count.

Credit Amounts by Installation Date

Standard metal roof installed before 2023: 10% of material cost only, subject to a $500 lifetime cap covering all energy improvements together.
Standard metal roof installed from 2023 through 2025: not eligible.
Solar-integrated metal roof installed through December 31, 2025: 30% of total cost including labor, no dollar cap.
Any metal roof installed in 2026 or later: no federal energy tax credit.

Both credits are nonrefundable. They reduce the tax you owe dollar for dollar but do not generate a refund on their own.⁶

Which Homes Qualified

Section 25D’s solar credit applied to any dwelling you used as a residence, including a second home or vacation property. It did not have to be your main home. You could not claim it for a property you rented to others and never lived in yourself.⁵

Section 25C was tighter. The building envelope credit, including the pre-2023 metal roof piece, required a home located in the United States and used as your principal residence. Second homes and rentals did not qualify.⁷

How Rebates Affect the Math

Utility rebates and manufacturer rebates generally reduce the expenses you can use to figure the credit. The IRS treats public utility subsidies and rebates from the manufacturer, distributor, or installer that are tied to the cost of the property as reductions in your qualified costs.⁴

State incentives are treated differently. They are usually not subtracted from qualified costs unless they meet the federal definition of a rebate or purchase-price adjustment, though some may still need to be included in your gross income for federal tax purposes.⁴

Documents to Pull Together

Before filing or amending for a pre-2026 installation, gather:

A Manufacturer’s Certification Statement, signed by the maker, confirming the product meets the technical requirements for the credit.⁸
An itemized receipt that separates materials from labor. For pre-2023 Section 25C claims, only materials counted.
A Product Identification Number for property installed in 2025 under the revised Section 25C. The PIN is a 17-character code assigned by the manufacturer; a shorter four-character manufacturer code was also accepted for 2025 installations.⁹
Energy Star or other performance documentation showing the product met the standards in effect when you installed it.

Check that the model number on the certification statement matches the one on your contractor’s invoice. Keep everything on file in case the IRS asks.

Filing or Amending

Residential energy credits go on IRS Form 5695. Part I handles the Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D); Part II handles the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C).¹⁰ The result flows to Schedule 3 of Form 1040, with the clean energy credit landing on line 5a.¹¹

If you missed the credit in a prior year, file Form 1040-X for the year the installation was completed. You cannot pull a prior year’s credit onto your current return. The general window is three years from the original filing deadline for that tax year.

Carrying Forward an Unused Solar Credit

If your Section 25D credit was larger than your tax bill in the year of installation, the unused portion carries forward to future tax years.⁵ The carryforward still applies even though the credit ended for new installations after 2025; a credit you already earned is not lost. The statute sets no time limit on how long you can carry the unused amount forward.

The old Section 25C credit had no carryforward. Any part you could not use in the year of installation was gone.

1
Internal Revenue Service. One Big Beautiful Bill Provisions
2
Internal Revenue Service. FAQs for Modification of Sections 25C, 25D, and Others Under the One Big Beautiful Bill
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25C – Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
4
Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 25D – Residential Clean Energy Credit
6
Internal Revenue Service. Residential Clean Energy Credit
7
Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit – Qualifying Residence
8
Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit Qualified Manufacturer Requirements
9
Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit – PIN Requirements
10
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits
11
Internal Revenue Service. Schedule 3 (Form 1040)