HEAR Rebates in Massachusetts: The Federal Heat Pump Money That Survived

What HEAR is, in plain English

HEAR stands for Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates. It is the income-qualified track of the Inflation Reduction Act's residential energy rebate package, funded by federal appropriation and administered state-by-state. Congress appropriated approximately $4.5 billion nationally for HEAR; Massachusetts received approximately $72.8 million of that. Combined with the parallel HOMES program ($73.2M to MA), the Commonwealth's IRA rebate envelope totals about $145.9 million.

HEAR pays for specific energy-efficient electric equipment in income-qualified households. The heat pump payment cap is $8,000 per household. Other HEAR-eligible items include heat-pump water heaters ($1,750), electric stoves/ranges/cooktops ($840), heat-pump clothes dryers ($840), electrical panel upgrades ($4,000), and insulation/air-sealing ($1,600). The whole-household cap on HEAR is $14,000.

HEAR vs. the expired §25C tax credit — why one survived and the other didn't

The most-asked question we get on this topic is: "wait, didn't the federal heat pump credits get killed in 2025?" Two different federal programs are easy to confuse:

• §25C (Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit) was a tax credit — you claimed it on your federal income tax return. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act terminated it for property placed in service after Dec 31, 2025, and it has not been reinstated.
• HEAR is an appropriation — Congress wrote a check to the Department of Energy, which wrote checks to states, which run the rebate program. The OBBBA did not claw back appropriated dollars. Massachusetts received its HEAR money, signed an implementing agreement, and continues to disburse it through MassCEC.

Functionally, this means a Massachusetts household at 80% AMI today has access to more federal heat pump money than a household at the same income had in 2024 — because HEAR's $8,000 cap exceeds the old §25C $2,000 cap. The trade-off is that HEAR is income-gated and §25C was not.

How HEAR stacks with Mass Save

HEAR and Mass Save are separate programs and they stack. A worked example for a household at 65% AMI installing a 3-ton whole-home cold-climate heat pump for $24,000:

1. Mass Save standard rebate: $2,650/ton × 3 tons = $7,950, well within the $8,500 whole-home cap.
2. Mass Save enhanced (income-qualified) rebate: the standard $8,500 cap gets replaced with the enhanced air-source heat pump ceiling, up to $16,000.
3. HEAR rebate: up to $8,000 toward the heat pump line item.
4. Sizing + weatherization bonuses: +$500 each if applicable (partial-home installs only).

Households at or below 60% AMI typically route into Mass Save's no-cost Turnkey path, where Mass Save's program administrators wrap project management, contractor selection, and rebate filing into a zero-out-of-pocket install. HEAR and the enhanced rebate funding flow through that pathway.

How to apply for HEAR in Massachusetts

1. Book a Mass Save Home Energy Assessment. Free, 60–90 minutes on-site, typically 4–6 week lead time for scheduling. Schedule via masssave.com.
2. The auditor evaluates income eligibility. You'll be asked for household-size and income documentation. If you qualify, you're routed to the income-eligible pathway (administered jointly by Mass Save and MassCEC) and HEAR becomes available.
3. Get quotes from Mass Save HPIN installers. Only HPIN-enrolled contractors can file your Mass Save rebate paperwork, and HEAR follows the same paperwork.
4. Equipment must be on the HPQPL. The heat pump must be ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certified and on the Mass Save Heat Pump Qualified Products List. R-410A units were removed January 1, 2026 — new installs use R-32 or R-454B.
5. Installer files the rebate. Funds typically arrive 6–10 weeks after install completion.

Detailed eligibility

• Income: At or below 80% Area Median Income (AMI) by HUD definition, varying by county and household size.
• Housing: Owner-occupied single-family, two-family, three-family, or multifamily (4+ units have a separate HEAR multifamily track).
• Utility: Mass Save participating utility (Eversource, National Grid, Unitil, Cape Light Compact, Berkshire Gas, Liberty Utilities). MLP customers — Belmont, Braintree, Reading, etc. — are not in HEAR via this pathway.
• Equipment: Must be on the Mass Save HPQPL with R-32 or R-454B refrigerant (post-2026 cutoff).
• Installer: Must be Mass Save HPIN-enrolled.

What to watch for in 2026 and beyond

• HEAR funds are finite. Massachusetts's $72.8M allocation is a pool; once disbursed, the program ends until Congress re-appropriates. As of May 2026 the pool remains open.
• HOMES is separate. The $73.2M HOMES allocation pays for deep-retrofit projects (combining weatherization with electrification) rather than standalone heat pump installs. Most homeowners pursuing only a heat pump should focus on HEAR.
• Federal §25C is not coming back automatically. Bills like H.R. 616 propose raising the §25C cap to $4,000, but as of May 2026 no replacement tax credit has been enacted.
• State Median Income (SMI) and Area Median Income (AMI) are not the same. The HEAT Loan tiers by SMI; HEAR qualifies by AMI. Don't conflate them on intake forms.