If you’re pricing a heat pump, the rebate line on a quote can take hundreds of dollars off the total, sometimes more. It’s also the line most likely to be out of date. Programs change their amounts, their efficiency tiers and now and then their names, so a figure that was right in spring can be wrong by fall.
Every amount below comes from the program’s own published page and shows the date we checked it. If we couldn’t confirm a figure at the source, it isn’t here. These are the programs’ numbers. None of them is a Greystone price.
First, the federal heat pump tax credit is gone
For several years the federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (Section 25C of the tax code) covered 30% of the cost of a qualifying heat pump, up to $2,000 a year. That credit has ended. Under Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025, it does not apply to property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and the IRS is specific about timing: if the installation is completed after that date, the expense counts as made after it and doesn’t qualify. Sources: the IRS FAQ on the Public Law 119-21 changes and its Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit page, both checked September 23, 2026. The same FAQ covers the other home energy credits the law changed.
So a heat pump installed in 2026 gets no federal credit.
That hasn’t reached every page yet. When we checked on September 23, 2026, the Board of Public Utilities’ incentives page still described the credit as 30% of cost, up to $2,000 a year, for tax years 2023 through 2032, with no last-updated date anywhere on it. Government pages lag behind law changes all the time, and this one hadn’t caught up yet. It does show where to look. For a tax credit, go to the IRS. For a rebate, go to whoever pays it. A summary page is a starting point only, and that includes this one.
If a quote or sales sheet for a 2026 installation still counts a federal tax credit, ask where the number came from.
Utility programs by territory
What most people mean by an NJ heat pump rebate is a utility rebate. The state’s Clean Energy Program says its efficiency programs run alongside “the state’s seven public electric and gas utilities” (cleanenergy.nj.gov, checked September 23, 2026). The schedule you’re under depends on which of them serves your address.
JCP&L heat pump rebate
JCP&L publishes a tiered schedule on its HVAC program page. On September 23, 2026 it showed:
| Equipment | Rebate | Minimum efficiency |
|---|---|---|
| Air-source heat pump, Tier 1 | $500 | SEER2 15.2, EER2 11.7, HSPF2 7.8 |
| Air-source heat pump, Tier 2 | $750 | SEER2 17.1, EER2 11.7, HSPF2 7.8 |
| Air-source heat pump, cold climate | $1,000 | SEER2 15.2, EER2 10, HSPF2 8.1 |
| Ductless mini-split heat pump | $750 | See the program page |
| Geothermal heat pump | $1,500 | See the program page |
The page shows no end date. That doesn’t make the amounts permanent. It just means nobody has said when they’ll change.
Look at the cold-climate row. It pays the most of the air-source tiers but asks for a lower EER2 than Tier 1 does. EER2 measures cooling on a hot day, and HSPF2 measures heating across a season. The program is paying for winter performance and will give up a little peak cooling efficiency to get it. If the heat pump will be heating the whole house, ask about this tier.
About that “2” on every rating: the Department of Energy changed its test procedure in 2023. The new SEER2, EER2 and HSPF2 figures come out lower than the old SEER, EER and HSPF for the same equipment, so an older spec sheet that says “SEER 16” doesn’t tell you whether the unit clears a SEER2 bar of 15.2. Compare against the rating the program actually names.
PSEG heat pump rebate
PSEG covers the largest territory, and it’s the one we can say least about. Its HVAC rebate page wouldn’t load for us on September 23, 2026. Installer and rebate-roundup sites describe a rebate taken off at the point of sale, plus a separate, larger incentive for converting a home from fossil fuel heat to a heat pump. We haven’t been able to check either amount at PSEG, so we’re not repeating anyone’s figure.
If you’re a PSEG customer, read the terms on that page yourself on the day you compare quotes. If the rebate really is applied at the point of sale, it should show up as its own line on the quote, which makes it easy to check.
Atlantic City Electric, Rockland Electric and the state’s gas utilities run their own versions. We haven’t checked their current amounts. The Clean Energy Program site links to each one, and that’s a better place to start than a search result.
The state program
The New Jersey Clean Energy Program is the statewide umbrella, run by the Board of Public Utilities. Its home page lists Comfort Partners, which it describes as “a free program that helps income-eligible customers reduce their utility bills” (checked September 23, 2026). If your household income might qualify, check that before anything else.
Third-party sites also describe a state whole-home rebate that can be combined with a utility rebate. We couldn’t get to the program’s own page to confirm its name, amount or rules, so there’s no figure here. Whether it stacks with your utility’s rebate is something only the program can answer, and we’d get that answer in writing.
How to confirm the amount for your address before you sign
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Find out who serves the house. Your electric bill names the electric utility. If a different company supplies your gas, write that down too. Territory lines don’t follow town lines neatly, so a neighbor’s rebate only helps if you’re on the same utility.
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Open the program’s own page on the day you compare quotes and note the date. You’re checking the amount, the tiers and whether there’s an application deadline.
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Get the exact model numbers, for the outdoor unit and the indoor unit (or coil). Efficiency ratings belong to a matched pair of units, not to the outdoor box alone. Ask for the AHRI certificate for that pair. It’s the industry’s rating record, and it lists the SEER2, EER2 and HSPF2 numbers that tier rules are usually checked against. A quote that gives a brand and a size but no model numbers isn’t enough to check a tier.
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Ask whether the rebate comes off at the point of sale or is claimed afterward, and who files the claim. If it’s claimed afterward and the claim is denied, the quote should say who carries that cost.
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Get the rebate on paper as its own line, with the program’s name. We’d send back a quote that only shows the price after rebates.
The usual advice about quotes applies too: get more than one, and get them in writing. Costs and planning covers how to compare them line by line. The heat pump guides cover whether a heat pump makes sense for your house in the first place.
Questions about any of this? Get in touch.