Payback Period Comparison

Cash, loan, and lease/PPA financing, compared side by side on the same system.

This compares three financing methods against each other. Just need a simple payback period for one scenario? See the Payback Calculator.

Heads up: the 30% federal solar tax credit (cash/loan only — leases were never eligible) expired for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Defaults to no federal credit.

This tool provides a planning estimate based on the assumptions shown below the results — it is not a quote, and actual costs and savings will vary by installer, local rates, and your specific home.

How this calculator works

If flagged as a 2025 install, cash and loan purchases apply the (now-expired) 30% federal Residential Clean Energy Credit to system cost; otherwise no federal credit is applied, since it expired for property placed in service after 2025-12-31. Cash and loan result in ownership. Lease/PPA payments escalate annually by your chosen rate and were never eligible for the federal credit — the installer, who owns the system, would have claimed it instead.

All three are projected over 20 years using the same annual savings assumption, so the comparison isolates the effect of financing structure alone.

Source: IRS Residential Clean Energy Credit; typical solar loan/lease/PPA contract structures, last updated 2026-07-10.