Washington Home Energy Rebates 2026: State HEAR, Utility Offers and How They Stack

The Short Answer

As of November 13, 2026, a Washington household can stack up to three layers of money on a heat pump: a utility rebate (typically $300 to $900, $1,800 to $2,500 for a ducted system in an electric-heated Snohomish PUD home, and $4,000 for an income-qualified Puget Sound Energy customer leaving natural gas), a city offer where one exists (Seattle pays $2,000 to leave oil heat), and, for households at or under 150% of area median income, a state HEAR rebate set by the local administrator. A heat pump water heater adds $500 to $1,500 depending on the utility. The federal IRA rebates have not launched here, and the 25C and 25D federal tax credits are gone for 2026 installs.

That is the whole picture in one paragraph. The rest of this page gives the status of each program, two tables you can keep open while you collect quotes, and two worked examples.

What Is Open, What Is Closed, What Has Not Started

Program status changes faster than amounts. Check this table first; a generous rebate that has not launched is worth nothing on your invoice.

Sources: each program's official page, read November 13, 2026. See the citations below this article.

Washington HEAR: Money Through Local Administrators

The name causes confusion, so start with what it is not. Washington's HEAR program is funded by the state Climate Commitment Act, not by the federal Inflation Reduction Act. It shares the federal program's name and much of its equipment list, but the money, rules and timing are separate.

How it reaches a household. Commerce does not pay homeowners. It grants money to third-party administrators: nonprofits, community action agencies, housing providers, local governments, tribes and retail electric utilities. Each administrator then runs rebates or direct installs in its area under its own schedule. Commerce's page lists 40 awardees totaling $39,323,876. The three largest named on the page are WOW Women Tri-cities at $4,589,587, King County at $3,775,416 and South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity at $3,071,333. Commerce reports about $73.5 million invested across 55 programs in 2024 and 2025 and expects to invest another $30.1 million.

What it pays for. Heat pumps for heating and cooling, heat pump water heaters, heat pump clothes dryers and washer-dryer units, induction cooking equipment, and electric panel and wiring upgrades. Equipment has to be ENERGY STAR or AHRI certified.

Who qualifies. Households at or under 150% of area median income, measured against HUD's Income Limits Dataset for the county, including renters and multifamily households. Small businesses and nonprofits with 50 or fewer employees and adult family homes licensed by the Department of Social and Health Services can also qualify. Commerce notes that not every administrator uses every one of these criteria, so an administrator may serve a narrower group.

What it means in practice. You cannot look up a statewide HEAR amount, because none exists. A heat pump in Pasco and a heat pump in Olympia can earn different HEAR rebates and both are correct. The working rule:

1. Find your administrator on the list linked from Commerce's HEAR page.
2. Check your income against your county's 150% figure. Area median income is set by county, so the dollar line moves when you cross a county border. Our guide to how AMI tests work walks through the arithmetic and the household-size adjustment.
3. Ask the administrator for its amount on your exact measure, in writing, and ask whether approval is needed before the contractor starts. Do not book the install until both answers are in hand.

If no administrator is listed for your area yet, Commerce's page says contact information is posted as contracts are finalized. The program mailbox is HomeRebates@Commerce.wa.gov.

Our Washington HEAR program record keeps the eligibility and funding figures in one place.

The Federal Rebates Are Not Here Yet

Washington applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for both federal programs: HEAR (point-of-sale rebates of up to $8,000 for a heat pump for qualifying lower-income households) and HOMES (whole-home efficiency rebates). Commerce's page, dated July 2, 2024, says the applications went in and that the state applied for over $165 million. It describes no way for a household to apply. NASEO's launch tracker, updated September 30, 2026, lists 13 states and the District of Columbia that had launched HEEHR rebates; Washington is not on it.

Two practical consequences follow:

• Do not delay a failing furnace replacement waiting for federal money with no launch date.
• Do not pay anyone who offers to "reserve" a federal rebate for you. There is nothing to reserve.

The federal caps and how states have implemented them are covered in our heat pump rebate by state guide.

Utility Rebates by Territory

Washington's utility rebates are smaller than the headline state programs but they are open, published and paid on a schedule you can check. One pattern is worth knowing before you read the list: Seattle City Light and Avista print the same three heat pump tiers, at the same efficiency thresholds and the same dollars. If your contractor quotes a model, the tier it lands in decides whether you get $300 or $600.

The step from Tier 2 to Tier 3 is worth $200 and needs a higher HSPF2. On a cold-climate model the higher heating rating also cuts winter running cost, so it is usually the better buy if the price gap between the two models is small.

Puget Sound Energy

PSE's heating rebate page lists rebates for converting electric resistance heat to an air-source heat pump, for hybrid heat pumps, for heat pump to heat pump upgrades, and an income-qualified fuel switching rebate. Only the last prints a dollar amount in its form:

• Income-qualified gas to heat pump: $4,000, ducted or ductless. The home's primary and current heating system must burn natural gas (furnace, boiler or wall heater). Homes already on electric resistance or a hybrid system do not qualify. Income is tested monthly against a county and household-size table; a one-person household in King County qualifies at up to $7,955 a month. The rebate cannot exceed the pre-tax purchase price, and the application is due within 30 days of purchase.
• Other heating rebates: PSE says manufactured home residents may qualify for a higher amount and that rebates take 4 to 6 weeks. The rebates apply to existing single-family homes only, not new construction or buildings of five or more attached units. Call PSE's Energy Advisors at 1-800-562-1482 for the electric resistance conversion amount on the day you buy.

Seattle City Light and Seattle Clean Heat

• Heat pump: the $300, $400 or $600 instant discount in the tier table, for systems under 5.4 tons, through participating distributors. No DIY installs.
• Heat pump water heater: $750, three ways: through a contractor, as an instant coupon at select Home Depot and Lowe's stores in the Puget Sound area, or by rebate form within 93 days of purchase. Tier 3 or 4 models only, one rebate per customer.
• Oil to heat pump: $2,000 instant rebate through Seattle Clean Heat, run by the Office of Sustainability and Environment and taken off the contractor's invoice.
• Income-eligible households: a no-cost oil-to-heat-pump conversion through the Office of Housing, and free heating systems and insulation through HomeWise.
• Smart thermostat for electric baseboard: $50 per unit, up to five, through December 31, 2026.

Avista (Washington)

• Air-source and ductless heat pumps in an existing home: $300, $400 or $600 by tier.
• Manufactured home heat pump up to 30 kBtuh: $400.
• Heat pump water heater under 120 gallons with a UEF of 2.1 or higher: $500 in an existing home, $150 in new construction.
• Avista also still pays on gas equipment in Washington: $650 for a 90% AFUE condensing furnace and $475 for a tankless gas water heater. That matters for the stacking decision below, because a gas furnace rebate and a heat pump rebate cannot both be claimed for the same heating system.

Avista pays these as contractor discounts through participating distributors, and its page says the contractor "may choose to pass on" the discount. Ask for it as a line item on the bid.

Clark Public Utilities

• Ductless heat pump: $900 for a single or multi-head system in a home heated by an electric furnace or electric zonal heat (baseboard, wall heaters or cable ceiling heat). HSPF2 of 7.5 or higher, owner-occupied, one rebate per home, a Washington-licensed contractor, new equipment.
• Heat pump water heater: $1,500 for Tier 3 and 4 units. That is the largest published water heater rebate among the utilities on this page.
• Smart thermostat: $140 in homes heated by an electric furnace or heat pump.
• Weatherization rebates for electrically heated single-family and manufactured homes, and an income-qualified insulation rebate. The ducted heat pump program is listed without an amount; call 360-992-3355.

Snohomish County PUD

Snohomish PUD pays the largest published ducted heat pump rebates of the utilities on this page, but only to homes whose primary heat is already electric:

• Ducted heat pump conversion: $1,800 for a system rated at least HSPF2 7.5 and SEER2 13.8.
• Ducted inverter-driven heat pump: $2,500 for a system rated at least HSPF2 8.5 and SEER2 13.8.
• A PUD registered contractor must install it. The contractor applies the rebate after the PUD reviews and inspects the job, so the saving shows on the contractor's first bill.
• Single-family homes, manufactured homes, and townhouse or condominium units in buildings of up to four attached dwellings qualify.

The page lists no ductless rebate, no income-qualified heating rebate and no end date. It says customers can "save up to $2,500 on a water heater" without listing heat pump water heater tiers, so call the Energy Hotline at 425-783-1700 for the water heater amount. The PUD is also one of the retail electric utilities eligible to act as a state HEAR administrator; ask whether it runs HEAR for your address.

The Stacking Table by Measure

Keep this open while you compare bids. Amounts are as published on November 13, 2026. "State HEAR" means your local administrator's amount, which you must get from the administrator.

Two rules decide what actually stacks:

1. Programs paying for the same equipment usually check each other. Utility rebates in Washington are mostly paid through contractors and distributors. A HEAR administrator may require the utility rebate to be applied first and pay a top-up, or it may cap the combined amount at the project cost. PSE's form already caps its own rebate at the pre-tax price. Ask the administrator how it treats the utility rebate before assuming the two add.
2. The fuel you leave decides the big money. The $4,000 PSE rebate needs natural gas as the current primary heat. The $2,000 Seattle rebate needs oil. The Clark $900 and the Snohomish PUD $1,800 or $2,500 need electric heat. A household heating with propane, outside Seattle, outside PSE gas territory, has fewer layers.

The Stacking Table by Utility Territory

A household in Seattle served by both PSE gas and City Light electricity belongs in two rows. The PSE gas rebate is paid by the gas utility you are leaving; the City Light discount is paid by the electric utility you are joining. On the published pages nothing prevents both, but each program checks its own rules, so confirm with each.

Worked Example 1: An Oil-Heated House in Seattle

The house. Seattle, City Light electricity, an old oil furnace, ducts in usable shape. The household earns above the income lines, so the no-cost conversion and HEAR are out.

The project. A ducted heat pump rated SEER2 16.0 and HSPF2 9.5, which is Tier 3, plus a Tier 3 heat pump water heater to replace an aging electric tank.

The rebates.

• Seattle Clean Heat, leaving oil: $2,000
• City Light Tier 3 heat pump discount: $600
• City Light heat pump water heater: $750
• Federal 25C: $0 (ended for 2026 installs)

Total: $2,000 + $600 + $750 = $3,350.

To see the effect on price, take a quote of $16,000 for the heat pump and $4,000 for the water heater. These two quote figures are assumptions for the arithmetic, not Seattle price data; use your own bids. The heat pump nets $16,000 minus $2,600 = $13,400. The water heater nets $4,000 minus $750 = $3,250. The household pays $16,650 for both.

The tier check. If the contractor had quoted a Tier 2 model (HSPF2 8.5), the City Light discount would fall to $400 and the total to $3,150. If the two models are less than $200 apart, the Tier 3 unit is cheaper after the rebate and costs less to run.

What changes for a lower-income household. If the same house qualified through the Office of Housing, the oil conversion could cost nothing, and the water heater could be covered through a HEAR administrator if that administrator funds it. The household would skip the $2,000 rebate because the conversion itself is paid.

Worked Example 2: A Baseboard-Heated House in Vancouver

The house. Vancouver, Clark Public Utilities, heated by electric baseboards, with no ducts. Household income is 120% of the county's area median, so it is inside the 150% HEAR line.

The project. A three-head ductless heat pump and a Tier 3 heat pump water heater.

The rebates.

• Clark ductless heat pump: $900 (electric zonal heat, HSPF2 7.5 or higher)
• Clark heat pump water heater: $1,500
• Clark smart thermostat: $140 is available for heat pump homes, but a ductless system run from its own controls usually does not use one, so it is left out
• State HEAR: the amount set by the administrator for the area; this example shows it as an unknown, H
• Federal: $0

Total before HEAR: $900 + $1,500 = $2,400. Total with HEAR: $2,400 + H.

Do not fill in H with a number from another county or from the federal $8,000 cap. The household calls its administrator, gets H in writing, and confirms whether the administrator reduces H by the Clark rebates. If the administrator caps the combined total at the project cost, a large H on a modest project may be trimmed.

Running cost note. Baseboard heat turns each kilowatt-hour into one kilowatt-hour of heat. A heat pump moves heat rather than making it, so it delivers more heat than the electricity it uses, and the gap is widest in a mild winter like Vancouver's. That makes baseboard-to-ductless the conversion with the clearest bill savings. Our operating cost guide shows how to price heat by fuel.

Sales Tax: Solar Yes, Heat Pumps No

Washington exempts solar, not heat pumps. Under RCW 82.08.962, a solar energy system of no more than 100 kW AC is fully exempt from state and local sales tax on both equipment and installation labor, provided installation began on or after July 1, 2019 and is completed by December 31, 2029. The section expires January 1, 2030. Systems between 100 kW and 500 kW get a 50% remittance instead.

On a $25,000 home solar quote (an assumed figure), the state's 6.5% rate alone would be $1,625 before local tax. The exemption removes that and the local share. The seller has to meet the registration and labor requirements in the statute, so ask the installer to confirm it charges no sales tax and why.

We found no comparable exemption for heat pumps, heat pump water heaters or induction ranges in the statute or on the program pages above. Budget sales tax on those quotes.

The Federal Tax Credits Are Gone for 2026

The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C), which paid 30% up to $2,000 a year for a heat pump, and the Residential Clean Energy Credit (25D), which paid 30% of solar and battery costs, both ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. A heat pump installed in 2026 earns no federal credit. If a contractor's proposal shows a 30% credit, it is out of date. Our 25C and 25D explainer covers what ended and what remains.

Order of Operations

Rebates are lost to sequence more often than to eligibility. Use this order:

1. Check your income line first. If you are at or under 150% of your county's area median income, contact your HEAR administrator before getting quotes. Some administrators run direct installs and choose the contractor themselves.
2. Name the fuel you are leaving. Oil in Seattle, natural gas in PSE territory, or electric resistance in Clark territory each opens a different rebate.
3. Get three bids on the same scope, each naming the model number with its SEER2 and HSPF2 ratings, so you can see the utility tier. Our quote comparison worksheet lays out the columns.
4. Use a participating contractor. City Light and Avista pay through participating distributors and contractors; a non-participating installer cannot pass the discount through.
5. Watch the clock after purchase. PSE's income-qualified form is due within 30 days of purchase; City Light's water heater rebate form within 93 days.
6. Keep the paperwork: the invoice, AHRI certificate, model numbers and proof of prior fuel (an oil delivery bill or gas bill).

Edge Cases

• Renters. State HEAR explicitly includes renters and multifamily households at or under 150% of AMI. Utility rebates usually need the owner's consent, and PSE's heating rebates exclude buildings of five or more attached units.
• Manufactured homes. Avista pays $400 for a manufactured home heat pump up to 30 kBtuh, and PSE says manufactured home residents may qualify for more than its standard rebate.
• DIY installs. City Light, Avista and Clark exclude self-installed heat pumps. City Light's $750 water heater rebate is the exception: a DIY buyer can use the store coupon or the rebate form.
• New construction. PSE's heating rebates exclude it. Avista pays reduced new construction amounts, for example $150 rather than $500 for a heat pump water heater.
• Hybrid systems. PSE's income-qualified rebate excludes homes that already have a hybrid heat pump. PSE lists a separate hybrid heat pump rebate for other cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Washington heat pump rebate in 2026?

There is no single figure. Utility rebates published on November 13, 2026 run from $300 to $900 for most customers, $1,800 to $2,500 for a ducted heat pump in an electric-heated Snohomish PUD home, $4,000 for an income-qualified PSE customer replacing natural gas heat, plus $2,000 in Seattle for leaving oil. State HEAR adds an amount set by your local administrator if your household is at or under 150% of area median income.

Is Washington HEAR the same as the federal HEAR rebate?

No. Washington's HEAR is funded by the state Climate Commitment Act and run by the Department of Commerce through local administrators. The federal IRA HEAR has not launched in Washington; Commerce applied for over $165 million and has not announced a household program.

Can I combine a utility rebate with state HEAR?

Often, but it is the administrator's decision. Utility rebates are mostly applied on the contractor's invoice, and an administrator may count them before calculating its own amount or cap the total at the project cost. Ask before you sign.

Does Washington have a sales tax exemption for heat pumps?

We found none. The state exempts solar systems up to 100 kW AC from state and local sales tax under RCW 82.08.962, for installs completed by December 31, 2029, but heat pumps are taxed normally.

Can I still claim the applicable federal tax credit for a heat pump?

No. The 25C credit is not available for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the 25D credit for solar and batteries ended on the same date.

What does Seattle pay to switch from oil heat?

Seattle Clean Heat pays a $2,000 instant rebate on the contractor's invoice for converting from oil to a qualified heat pump. Income-eligible households can get a no-cost conversion through the Seattle Office of Housing.

Which Washington utility pays the most for a heat pump water heater?

Of the utilities on this page, Clark Public Utilities pays the most at $1,500 for Tier 3 and 4 units, then Seattle City Light at $750 and Avista at $500 for a retrofit.

Related Reading

• Home energy rebates by province and state, 2026
• Washington HEAR Program record
• Heat Pump Rebate by State 2026
• State Energy Rebate Stacking Guide
• HEEHR Income Limits: How the 80% and 150% AMI Tests Work
• Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Cost 2026
• Electrical Panel Upgrade Cost 2026
• Heat Pump HVAC Quote Comparison Worksheet