Maryland's incentive stack, piece by piece
No panel-specific state income tax credit, but a real grant instead
Maryland does not offer a state income tax credit for solar panels themselves. A separate Energy Storage Income Tax Credit for batteries, worth up to $5,000 or 30% of cost, ended in 2024 when its funding ran out and was replaced by a newer grant program. In its place, the Maryland Solar Access Program offers income-eligible homeowners a direct grant of $750 per kilowatt of installed capacity, up to a maximum of $7,500. As of spring 2026, this funding was reported as nearly exhausted for the current cycle, so confirm availability before counting on it. Check your federal ITC status for the complete 2026 picture.
Two tax exemptions that apply broadly
Maryland exempts solar equipment from its 6% state sales tax, and separately excludes the added value your system gives your home from property tax assessment statewide. On top of the statewide property tax exemption, several counties, including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Prince George's, have offered their own additional one-time property tax credits, so check with your specific county tax authority for anything beyond the baseline state benefit. With your rebate total in hand, the combined loan and rebate timing tool shows the monthly payment on the amount you still need to borrow. Run the sales tax numbers with the sales tax exemption savings calculator.
SRECs provide real ongoing income
Maryland's Renewable Portfolio Standard requires utilities to source a portion of their electricity from solar, which drives demand for Solar Renewable Energy Certificates. Homeowners earn one SREC per megawatt-hour of production, and recent prices have traded roughly between $40 and $90 per credit. A typical residential system might generate 6 to 10 SRECs a year, adding up to real supplemental income over the system's lifetime on top of the electricity bill savings from net metering. Project this further with the SREC value estimator.
Net metering is strong now, but has a sunset date, and a capacity trigger too
Maryland currently mandates 1:1 full retail net metering across its major utilities, including BGE, Pepco, Delmarva, and SMECO. The Maryland General Assembly's Utility RELIEF Act, HB 1532, signed into law May 12, 2026, closes the current program to new customers on whichever comes first: July 1, 2027, or the moment statewide net metering capacity reaches a 3,000 megawatt cap. Once either trigger hits, the Public Service Commission is required to design a replacement program, expected to pay meaningfully less than today's full retail rate. Systems that connect under the current rules before that trigger keep full retail net metering for the life of the system, so this isn't a benefit that expires on existing installations, only a closing door for new ones. If your timeline stretches close to mid-2027, confirm the latest status directly with the Maryland Public Service Commission before finalizing your plans, since the exact replacement rules were still being finalized as of this writing.