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Massachusetts HVAC Incentives Changelog

By MassHVAC Editorial Team Reviewed by MassHVAC Editorial Team Last updated

This page exists because Massachusetts HVAC incentives have changed on a roughly yearly cadence — and they will keep changing. The Mass Save 2025–2027 Three-Year Plan was reduced by $500 million in February 2026; federal §25C and §25D expired at the end of 2025; the refrigerant transition cut R-410A from the Mass Save Qualified Products List on January 1, 2026. Every quote you receive that's older than the entries below is suspect.

Each entry below is dated to the day it took effect or was signed, not when we noticed it. Every entry links to a primary source.

  1. Mass Save

    Verified Mass Save geothermal rebate ($13,500), clarified HEAR operational status, corrected MA RT licensing board

    Re-verified the standard Mass Save ground-source (geothermal) heat pump rebate against masssave.com: whole-home cap is $13,500 flat, partial-home tier pays $2,000/ton up to $13,500, and the income-qualified enhanced GSHP path remains up to $25,000 per household. Added GSHP_REBATE_TIERS constant to incentives.ts so the standard tier propagates to geothermal spokes; calculator wire-up pending. Separately, fetched masssave.com/inflation-reduction-act to clarify HEAR operational status: Mass Save confirms HEAR funding is being integrated into existing income-eligible offerings rather than offered as a standalone $8,000 consumer rebate — updated IRA_REBATES.hear-heat-pump to reflect this. Also corrected the Massachusetts Refrigeration Technician licensing board reference to the Bureau of Pipefitters, Refrigeration Technicians, and Sprinkler Fitters (not the Plumbers & Gas Fitters Board), fixed the MassDEP Well Driller Certification URL, widened the c06 Midea whole-home install range to $10,000–$18,000, and reconciled c01/c07 spoke lead-answer ranges to $5,000–$18,000 to match install-costs.ts.

    Who this affects
    • Geothermal (c04) spoke pages
    • HVAC companies (c05) spoke pages
    • Midea (c06) spoke pages
    • Incentives hub geothermal section
    • Rebate calculator (pending wire-up)
  2. Editorial

    Re-verified all 2026 Mass Save figures against primary sources

    We re-checked every dollar figure on the site against masssave.com, mass.gov DOER, and irs.gov as of May 20, 2026. Whole-home ($2,650/ton), partial-home ($1,125/ton), basic ($250/ton), and the $8,500 cap are unchanged from January. HEAT Loan terms still tier 84/60/36 months by State Median Income. Refrigerant exception dates for VRF (Jan 1, 2027) and factory-charged self-contained units (Jan 1, 2028) confirmed.

    Who this affects
    • All masshvac.com pages with rebate figures
  3. Mass Save

    Massachusetts DPU orders $500M reduction to the Mass Save 2025–2027 plan

    The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved a $500 million reduction to the Mass Save Three-Year Plan and ordered the Program Administrators to submit a revised plan. As of mid-May 2026, the residential heat pump rebate rates published on masssave.com remain unchanged ($2,650/ton whole-home, $8,500 cap). If cuts land on residential rebates in the revised plan, expect rate reductions before the 2027 program year — monitor before quoting amounts that are six months or more in the future.

    Who this affects
    • Mass Save residential rebate rates (potential future reduction)
    • Program Administrator scope for 2026–2027
  4. Mass Save

    Mass Save whole-home heat pump rebate drops to $2,650/ton; new Basic tier added

    Effective for projects with equipment installed on or after January 1, 2026, the whole-home Mass Save heat pump rebate fell from $3,000 per ton (2025) to $2,650 per ton, with the $8,500 per-home cap unchanged. The partial-home rebate held steady at $1,125 per ton. A new Basic rebate tier was introduced at $250 per ton (capped at $2,500) for heat-pump-to-heat-pump replacements and small previously-unconditioned spaces. The 2027 plan filing projects a further decline to approximately $2,500 per ton.

    Who this affects
    • Anyone quoting Mass Save heat pump rebates for 2026 installs
    • Whole-home and partial-home tier eligibility
  5. Refrigerant rules

    R-410A heat pumps removed from the Mass Save HPQPL; R-32 or R-454B required

    EPA rules effective January 1, 2026 prohibit installation of new residential and light-commercial heat pump systems using refrigerants with global warming potential greater than 700. Mass Save removed all R-410A systems from the Heat Pump Qualified Products List on that date. New rebate-eligible installations must use R-32 or R-454B. Two exceptions remain: variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems can use R-410A through January 1, 2027, and factory-charged self-contained products (window units, packaged terminal heat pumps) through January 1, 2028.

    Who this affects
    • All new Mass Save-eligible heat pump installs
    • Equipment selection decisions and inventory planning for installers
  6. Federal

    Federal §25C heat pump credit and §25D geothermal credit both expire

    The §25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (up to $2,000 for qualifying heat pumps) ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. The §25D Residential Clean Energy Credit (30% for ground-source heat pumps, no cap) ended for expenditures made after the same date, where expenditures are treated as made when the original installation is completed. Both credits had been extended through 2032 under the Inflation Reduction Act before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act terminated them early. Pre-2026 §25D installs may carry forward unused credits into later tax years per IRS guidance. As of May 2026, neither credit has been reinstated.

    Who this affects
    • Every Massachusetts homeowner planning a 2026+ heat pump install
    • Every contractor quote that still references the $2,000 federal credit
  7. Federal

    One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) signed — terminates IRA energy credits

    Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72, was signed July 4, 2025. The statute terminated multiple Inflation Reduction Act energy provisions, including §25C and §25D, for property placed in service or expenditures made after December 31, 2025. The IRA-funded HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) and HOMES (Home Efficiency Rebates) appropriation programs were not affected and continue to flow into Massachusetts through MassCEC and Mass Save.

    Who this affects
    • §25C, §25D, §30C, §30D, §45L, §45W, §179D (energy credit terminations)
    • Federal heat pump tax policy through at least the 119th Congress
  8. Financing

    Mass Save HEAT Loan switches to SMI-tiered term lengths

    Effective January 1, 2025, the Mass Save HEAT Loan retained its 0% APR rate and $25,000 cap but moved from a flat term to income-tiered terms by State Median Income: 84 months (7 years) for households below 135% SMI; 60 months (5 years) for 135–300% SMI; 36 months (3 years) above 300% SMI. Households below approximately 81% SMI typically route to no-cost / enhanced-rebate Mass Save programs rather than the HEAT Loan.

    Who this affects
    • Anyone financing a Mass Save-eligible upgrade in 2025 or later

How we re-verify these figures

Every rebate dollar amount and refrigerant cutoff date on this site is re-checked against the primary source (Mass Save, MA DOER, IRS, EPA, ENERGY STAR) before any publish or refresh. The most recent re-verification ran on 2026-05-27. We do not list amounts we cannot link to a primary source. If a figure on this site disagrees with the primary source today, the primary source wins — let us know via the contact page and we will fix it. Upcoming scheduled reviews for each incentive figure and guide are published on our editorial calendar.

Need a quote that uses today's numbers?

Get matched with a Mass Save HPIN installer who quotes in current 2026 dollars — not a stale federal-credit assumption.

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