The $8,000 HEEHRA Heat Pump Rebate: Who Qualifies and How to Claim It

The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act, usually called HEEHRA or the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program, is the most generous heat pump incentive ever offered to U.S. homeowners — up to $8,000 off a heat pump install for households below 80% of area median income, and up to $4,000 for households between 80% and 150% of AMI. It's a point-of-sale rebate, meaning the discount comes off the price at install rather than being claimed at tax time. It's also state-administered, which has caused a lot of confusion: the program rolled out unevenly, and the eligibility rules and rebate caps vary slightly state to state. This guide walks through what HEEHRA actually pays for, who qualifies in 2026, how to claim it, and how it stacks with everything else.

What HEEHRA actually covers

HEEHRA was funded by the Inflation Reduction Act with $4.5 billion total, divided across all 50 states based on population. Each state designs its own implementation but must follow the federal rebate caps. The core rebate amounts for heat pump equipment are: up to $8,000 for an air-source heat pump installation for households at or below 80% AMI; up to $4,000 for households between 80% and 150% AMI. Both caps are subject to a 100% project-cost limit (so if your project costs $7,500, your max rebate is $7,500, not $8,000).

HEEHRA also covers other electrification upgrades that homeowners often miss: up to $1,750 for a heat pump water heater, up to $840 for an electric stove or heat pump dryer, up to $4,000 for an electrical panel upgrade required to support the new equipment, up to $2,500 for electrical wiring, and up to $1,600 for insulation, air sealing, and ventilation. The lifetime cap per household is $14,000 across all upgrade categories.

Crucially, the program is not a tax credit. You don't need to wait until tax season, you don't need to itemize, and you don't need taxable income to use it. The contractor processes the rebate at the point of sale and your invoice is reduced by the rebate amount. This is structurally different from the §25C federal tax credit (also $2,000 max for heat pumps), which IS a tax credit and DOES require federal tax liability to use.

Who qualifies

Qualification has three components: income, home occupancy, and equipment specs.

Income. The $8,000 tier requires household income at or below 80% of area median income for your county. The $4,000 tier requires income between 80% and 150% AMI. AMI is calculated by HUD and varies wildly by metro — the 80% threshold for a family of four ranges from roughly $52,000 in rural Mississippi to $115,000 in San Francisco. The HUD AMI lookup tool (search "HUD AMI" for the current year's page) is the authoritative source. Your installer will verify your income tier as part of the rebate paperwork, typically using a recent tax return or paystubs.

Home occupancy. The home being upgraded must be your primary residence. Rentals and investment properties are not eligible under most state implementations, though landlord programs are emerging in a handful of states for properties rented to income-qualified tenants. Mobile homes and manufactured homes are explicitly eligible.

Equipment. The heat pump must meet ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certification (for cold climates, defined as IECC zones 4 and above) or ENERGY STAR Most Efficient certification (for warmer zones). The unit must be installed by a contractor in your state's approved installer network — most states ran a contractor enrollment process in 2024–2025, and your installer needs to be on the list before they can submit your rebate. Asking "are you enrolled with the state's HEEHRA program?" is the single most useful screening question when collecting quotes.

The state-by-state rollout reality

Federal funding for HEEHRA was allocated in 2023, but actual disbursement to homeowners requires each state to set up an administering body, an installer registration system, and an income verification process. Some states moved fast (Maine, New York, Colorado, Massachusetts launched 2024). Others are still finalizing rules in 2026. As of this writing, roughly 30 states have HEEHRA rebates flowing to homeowners. The rest have allocated funding but aren't accepting applications yet.

If your state is in the "not accepting applications yet" bucket, you have two options. First, the federal §25C tax credit ($2,000 max) is available everywhere and stacks on top of HEEHRA when HEEHRA goes live — install now, claim §25C this tax year, and HEEHRA may still be available retroactively when your state launches (some states have built in retroactive eligibility for installs completed during their setup period — check your state's program rules). Second, several states have their own state-funded heat pump rebates that operate independently of HEEHRA — Mass Save in Massachusetts, Efficiency Maine, Xcel rebates in Colorado. These are often as generous as HEEHRA and don't have income caps, just equipment specs.

Our state rebate index tracks current HEEHRA status plus all state-funded programs in one place, with source links to each program's official page.

How to claim it

The flow looks like this in a state with active HEEHRA:

Step 1: Confirm income tier. Look up your county's 80% and 150% AMI thresholds for your household size. Compare to your most recent year's gross income. If you're below 80%, you're in the $8,000 tier. Between 80% and 150%, the $4,000 tier. Above 150%, you're not HEEHRA-eligible — but you're still eligible for the $2,000 federal §25C credit and any state rebates, which often stack to $4,000–$10,000 in total.

Step 2: Find an enrolled contractor. Your state energy office will publish a list of HEEHRA-enrolled installers. Get at least three quotes — not all enrolled installers will quote the same price for the same work, and some will try to absorb the rebate value into their pricing rather than passing it through. The rebate must be itemized on the invoice as a discount, not embedded in the labor or equipment price.

Step 3: Verify the equipment specs. Get the model number from your installer and confirm it's ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certified (or Most Efficient for warm zones). The AHRI certificate matching your indoor and outdoor units is required for most state rebate paperwork. Don't take the contractor's word for it — ask for the AHRI certificate before you sign.

Step 4: Sign the income certification. Your contractor will provide a state-specific income certification form. You sign under penalty of perjury that your income falls in the claimed tier. Most states require attaching a recent tax return (1040 first page) or two months of paystubs. Your contractor handles the submission to the state — you don't mail anything yourself in most state implementations.

Step 5: Confirm point-of-sale discount. The rebate amount appears as a line-item discount on your final invoice. You pay the contractor the post-rebate amount. The contractor is reimbursed by the state. If a contractor tries to make you pay the full amount and then claim a rebate yourself, that's not how HEEHRA works in any state we've seen — that's a sign to walk away.

How HEEHRA stacks with other incentives

HEEHRA is designed to stack with both federal tax credits and state rebates. Here's the full stack for an income-qualified household in a state with active HEEHRA and a generous state rebate program (Massachusetts is the example):

Start with a $15,000 ducted heat pump install. Apply HEEHRA $8,000 → reduces invoice to $7,000. Mass Save residential heat pump rebate up to $10,000 → reduces effective project cost further (Mass Save can be claimed on top of HEEHRA in Massachusetts, though the combined value is capped at project cost). Net cost at the door: under $2,000. Then claim the federal §25C tax credit for 30% of the post-rebate amount, capped at $2,000 — adds another $600 in tax savings.

One caveat that trips people up: state rebates and HEEHRA may both reduce the "cost basis" you use to calculate the §25C tax credit. The credit is 30% of the project cost AFTER state and utility rebates, so a heavily rebated install yields a smaller §25C credit than a full-price install. For most income-qualified households, the math still strongly favors stacking everything — the rebates are larger than the credit being trimmed.

Common pitfalls

Contractor isn't enrolled. If your state requires installer enrollment (most do), an unenrolled contractor cannot submit your HEEHRA rebate. You can't self-claim it later. Always confirm enrollment before signing.

Equipment doesn't qualify. Mid-tier heat pumps from budget brands often don't carry ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certification. Get the AHRI certificate and verify the certification before signing. A $9,000 install with a non-qualifying unit can become a $13,000 install once you upgrade to a qualifying model — and the qualifying unit is usually a better long-term investment anyway.

Income certification denial. States vary on what counts as income. Some count gross household income, some count adjusted gross income, some make adjustments for dependents. Read your state's definition before assuming you qualify. If your income is borderline, ask your contractor or the state energy office for a written interpretation before scheduling work.

Funding exhaustion. Each state's HEEHRA funding is finite. Several states (Maine, Colorado, parts of New York) saw heavy uptake in 2024–2025 and have started rationing or pausing applications. Check program status before assuming the rebate is available — your state energy office's program page is the authoritative source.

If you don't qualify for HEEHRA

Households above 150% AMI aren't eligible for HEEHRA, but the math is still good. The federal §25C tax credit is $2,000 for any qualifying heat pump install, regardless of income. State rebates are generous in roughly 25 states regardless of income — Massachusetts, Maine, Colorado, New York, Washington, and others have non-income-qualified programs paying $1,500–$10,000. Use our heat pump cost calculator with your zip code to see what stacks for your specific situation. For a worked example of total cost over ten years, see heat pump vs. furnace 10-year cost comparison.

The federal §25C credit is locked through 2032. HEEHRA funding is per-state and per-year, and once a state exhausts its allocation, it's gone until Congress reauthorizes funding. If you're income-qualified and considering a heat pump, the rebate environment in 2026 is unusually favorable and unlikely to last in perpetuity.