Solar Rebate Calculator (STC + State)

Free solar rebate calculator for Australian homeowners. Estimate the value of your STC point-of-sale discount, state rebates (VIC Solar Homes, NSW Empowering Homes, SA Home Battery), and the new Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

Prepared by the Solar Calculator HQ editorial team. Review our formula, source and limitation standards.

Solar Panel Tax Credit Calculator

Gross system cost Rebate (% of cost) AU has no federal solar income-tax credit. STCs are point-of-sale discount via Clean Energy Regulator. STC discount + state rebate (A$) STC value depends on system size, zone, and STC spot price (~A$36/STC). Add VIC Solar Homes / NSW Empowering Homes / SA Home Battery if eligible.

Gross cost

$9,500

Total incentive

$2,200

Percentage rebate value: $0
STC + state rebate value: $2,200

Net cost after rebate

$7,300

Effective discount

23.2%

Moderate — confirm state top-up

How to use this calculator

The calculator stacks the STC discount, any state-level rebate, and your gross system cost to produce a net cost figure for Australian homeowners:

Gross system cost — quoted price from your CEC-accredited retailer before STC assignment. Most retailers advertise “after-rebate” pricing, so to use this calculator either ask for the gross figure or back-calculate. April 2026 typical pre-STC quote for a 6.6 kW system runs A$8,500–A$11,000 fully installed; SunWiz Q1 2026 tracker median is A$1,400/kW pre-STC.
Rebate (% of cost) — leave at 0% in most cases. Australia has no percentage tax credit for residential. If you are an investor claiming Division 40 depreciation, enter 10% (year-1 diminishing-value rate).
STC discount + state rebate (A$) — flat-rate rebate slot. Stack STC + Cheaper Home Batteries (if installing battery) + state rebate. Use the table below to estimate.

How the math works for Australian homeowners

The dominant rebate is the STC point-of-sale discount, applied at signing. Combined with the new Cheaper Home Batteries Program and any state top-up, the effective net cost is:

gross_cost      = pre-STC contract price
flat_rebate     = STC_discount + battery_program + state_rebate
net_cost        = gross_cost - flat_rebate

Worked example for a typical Melbourne home (April 2026):

6.6 kW PV + 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall 3, gross: A$22,500
STC discount (39 Zone 4 certificates × illustrative A$36): A$1,404
Cheaper Home Batteries (~13.5 kWh × A$370): A$5,000
VIC Solar Homes PV rebate: A$1,400 + interest-free loan A$1,400 (loan, not rebate)
Total flat rebate: A$7,804
Net cost: A$14,696, 34.7% effective discount

STC rebate by capital city (April 2026)

STC value depends on system size, your installation zone (1–4), and the spot STC price. Approximate STC discount by city for a 6.6 kW system at A$36/STC spot:

City	Zone	STC count (6.6 kW)	STC discount
Darwin, Cairns, Townsville	1	53	A$1,908
Selected Zone 2 postcodes	2	50	A$1,800
Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth	3	45	A$1,620
Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra	4	39	A$1,404

For another eligible size, calculate the entitlement from rated kW × zone rating × the five-year 2026 period and round down. SRES generation units are limited to 100 kW and 250 MWh annual output; larger projects use the LRET framework.

The STC clearing-house price is fixed at A$40 excluding GST, while open-market and assigned contract values vary. A$36 is only an illustrative working value; confirm the disclosed assignment price and fees.

Cheaper Home Batteries Program — operational since July 2025

The federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, announced in the 2025–26 Budget and live from 1 July 2025, brings residential battery storage into the SRES under the same certificate-and-assignment mechanism as solar STCs:

Eligibility: residential homes (or small business under 100 kW), CEC-approved battery installer, battery 5 kWh to 50 kWh usable capacity.
Rebate value: ~A$370/kWh of usable capacity in 2026, stepping down annually from 2027 (~A$300/kWh in 2027, ~A$220 in 2028, ~A$140 in 2029, ~A$70 in 2030). Closes 31 December 2030 with the SRES.
Application: assigned at point of sale via CEC-approved retailer. Same paperwork flow as solar STCs.
Stacking: stacks with state rebates (where state programs do not exclude federal-funded measures); in some states (VIC, ACT, QLD) stacks fully; in former state battery program states (SA) replaces the closed state scheme.

Approximate Cheaper Home Batteries discount by battery model:

Battery	Usable capacity	Discount @ A$370/kWh
Tesla Powerwall 3	13.5 kWh	A$5,000
sonnenBatterie evo	10 kWh	A$3,700
BYD Battery-Box Premium HVS 10.2	10.2 kWh	A$3,770
LG Energy Solution RESU Prime 10H	9.6 kWh	A$3,550
GoodWe Lynx Home F G2 (5–24 kWh)	5–24 kWh	A$1,850–A$8,880

State rebates in 2026 — what is open

State-level programs as at April 2026:

Victoria — Solar Homes Program (Solar Victoria): A$1,400 PV rebate + A$1,400 interest-free loan (4-year), means-tested at household taxable income ≤A$210,000. Solar battery rebate replaced by federal Cheaper Home Batteries since 2025.
NSW — Empowering Homes: interest-free 10-year loan up to A$14,000 for solar + battery in eligible postcodes (regional and Western Sydney). Not a grant — a loan.
NSW — Solar for Low Income Households: free 3 kW system for eligible Pensioner Concession Card holders (limited postcodes).
ACT — Home Energy Support: rebate up to A$2,500 plus 0% loan up to A$15,000 for owner-occupiers, means-tested.
QLD — Battery Booster: A$3,000–A$4,000 battery rebate, means-tested at household income ≤A$180,000, limited annual quota.
SA — Home Battery Scheme: closed November 2024 to new applicants. Replaced by federal Cheaper Home Batteries.
WA — Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS): peak/off-peak export tariff only, not a rebate. Synergy 10c/kWh peak (3pm–9pm), Horizon 2.5–10c.
TAS, NT: no current state solar/battery rebate.

Investor and small business — Division 40 + Instant Asset Write-Off

If you own a rental property or small business and install solar:

Investment property (long-term rental): claim 10% diminishing-value depreciation under Division 40 of the ITAA 1997 (ATO ruling TR 2022/1). On a A$10,000 system, year-1 deduction is A$1,000 (taxed at your marginal rate). At the 32.5% MTR that is A$325 saved tax — modest, and recovered on disposal.
Sole trader / small business with aggregated turnover <A$10 million: Instant Asset Write-Off threshold is A$20,000 in FY 2024–25 and FY 2025–26 per the May 2025 Federal Budget. So a 5 kW commercial system at A$8,000 is fully deductible in year 1.
Larger business: Section 40-25 effective life of 20 years (5% straight-line) for commercial-scale arrays.

For homeowners, none of the above applies — the STC is your rebate.

Pair this with the investment tax credit calculator, cost calculator, and payback calculator

For a complete picture: this calculator shows the day-one rebate stack; the payback calculator turns it into break-even years (typically 4–6 years in Australia post-STC); the cost calculator validates your pre-STC quote against state benchmarks. The investment tax credit version covers the commercial Division 40 + Instant Asset Write-Off side.

Sources

Clean Energy Regulator — Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) — definitive STC authority
Clean Energy Regulator — Cheaper Home Batteries Program — battery rebate rules
Clean Energy Council — Approved Retailer & Approved Solar Installer codes — installer accreditation
Solar Victoria — Solar Homes Program — VIC rebate details
NSW Government — Empowering Homes — NSW interest-free loan scheme
QLD Government — Battery Booster — QLD rebate
SunWiz Australia — quarterly market reports and pricing
AER (Australian Energy Regulator) — DMO 2025–26 — default tariff benchmarks
ATO — Depreciation of solar power assets (TR 2022/1) — investor tax treatment

Frequently asked questions

What is the STC rebate and how does it work in 2026?

The SRES creates STCs for eligible small-scale solar PV systems. One STC represents 1 MWh of deemed generation. The official solar-PV deeming period is 5 years for a 2026 installation. A 6.6 kW Sydney Zone 3 system creates about floor(6.6 × 1.382 × 5) = 45 STCs. At an illustrative A$36 assigned value, that is about A$1,620 before agent fees. Most customers assign the creation right to a registered agent for an upfront discount; the quote should disclose the count and value.

Is the STC rebate ending?

Yes. The deeming period is 5 years for systems installed in 2026, 4 in 2027, 3 in 2028, 2 in 2029 and 1 in 2030. For a 6.6 kW Zone 3 system that is about 45 STCs in 2026 and 9 in 2030, subject to eligibility and rounding. Confirm the live entitlement with the Clean Energy Regulator before relying on a quote.

What is the new Cheaper Home Batteries Program?

Announced by the Albanese Government in the 2025 Federal Budget and operational from 1 July 2025, the Cheaper Home Batteries Program adds residential battery storage to the SRES. It pays roughly A$370/kWh of usable battery capacity at point of sale via the same STC-style assignment mechanism. A 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwall 3 attracts ~A$5,000 discount; a 10 kWh sonnenBatterie attracts ~A$3,700. The rebate steps down annually starting 2027, ending 2030 in line with the broader SRES closure.

What state-level rebates can I stack with the STC?

Stackable state rebates as at April 2026: Victoria's Solar Homes (Solar PV Rebate of A$1,400 for solar, plus interest-free loan of A$1,400 — household income ≤A$210,000); NSW Empowering Homes (interest-free 10-year loan up to A$14,000 for solar+battery in eligible postcodes); SA Home Battery Scheme (closed November 2024 to new applicants, replaced by Federal program); ACT Home Energy Support (rebate up to A$2,500 plus 0% loan); QLD Battery Booster (A$3,000–A$4,000 means-tested); WA Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (export tariff only, not rebate). Tasmania and NT have no current state-level solar rebate. The federal STC discount stacks with all of these; eligibility tests vary.

Does Australia have a solar income-tax credit like the US ITC?

No, not for residential homeowners. The STC is an up-front certificate-based discount, not an income-tax credit on your annual return. For investment property owners, solar can be depreciated under Division 40 of the ITAA 1997 at 10% diminishing value over 10 years (ATO ruling TR 2022/1). Sole traders and small businesses installing solar on a business premises may also access the Instant Asset Write-Off (under A$20,000 threshold for FY 2024–25 and FY 2025–26 per the May 2025 Federal Budget). For homeowners, the STC point-of-sale discount is the rebate.