Solar financing for contractors in 2026 works differently than it did two years ago, and the changes are not cosmetic. The federal 25D credit that returned 30 percent of a cash or loan purchase to homeowners ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed July 4, 2025. Mosaic, once one of the two largest residential solar lenders, filed Chapter 11 in June 2025 and no longer originates. GoodLeap, Dividend, EnFin, Sungage, and a restructured Sunlight are the names still writing residential solar paper, and the dealer fees they charge installers, commonly 10 to 30 percent of the cash price, are now the subject of state attorney general litigation.
Key takeaways
- Mosaic is not a financing option anymore: it filed Chapter 11 on June 6, 2025, and its $8 billion loan portfolio and servicing operation were acquired by Solar Servicing, a Forbright Bank subsidiary, in September 2025.
- Sunlight Financial went through its own Chapter 11 in October 2023 and now operates under solar-industry investor ownership that includes Cross River Bank, at a much smaller scale than before.
- GoodLeap remains the largest residential solar lender by loan volume, with a 600 minimum FICO. Dividend requires 660, Sungage 640, and Qcells-owned EnFin 600.
- Dealer fees on solar loans typically run 10 to 30 percent of the cash price, and 2026 analyses put the average near 22 percent, adding several thousand dollars to the homeowner's principal.
- With 25D gone, third-party ownership (lease and PPA) is the only structure that still captures a federal credit in 2026, through the 48E credit claimed by the system owner.
What the end of the 25D credit changed for solar sales
The 25D residential clean energy credit was the backbone of every cash and loan pitch in residential solar. A homeowner buying a $25,000 system expected roughly $7,500 back at tax time, which is what made a 20-year loan payment look competitive against a utility bill. That credit terminated for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, nearly a decade earlier than its original 2034 sunset.
Two things follow for your sales process. Any proposal template, financing page, or rep script still showing a 30 percent credit on a purchased system is now wrong, and leaving it in place is a consumer protection problem rather than a typo. The payback math also has to be rebuilt from utility rates and system production alone. Third-party ownership is the exception: under Section 48E, the company that owns the system claims the credit and passes the benefit through as a lower lease or PPA payment, with a begin-construction deadline of July 4, 2026 for the four-year safe harbor window.
Which solar lenders are actually originating in 2026
Solar lending consolidated hard between 2023 and 2026. Rising rates, tighter capital markets, and falling demand pushed two well-known names through bankruptcy court, so a lender list copied from a 2023 blog post will send your reps to companies that cannot fund a job. Here is where the major names stand.
| Lender | Status in 2026 | Minimum FICO | Notes for installers |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoodLeap | Active, largest residential solar lender by volume | 600 | Dealer fees commonly cited at 15 to 30 percent, built into principal; also offers TPO lease and PPA products |
| Dividend Finance | Active (owned by Fifth Third Bank) | 660 | Bank-backed stability, tighter credit box than GoodLeap |
| EnFin | Active (owned by Qcells) | 600 | Manufacturer-backed; usually tied to Qcells equipment programs |
| Sungage Financial | Active | 640 | Long-standing solar-only lender, smaller dealer network |
| Sunlight Finance | Operating post-Chapter 11 (filed October 2023) | Varies by program | Owned by a solar investor consortium including Cross River Bank; smaller than its pre-2023 scale |
| Mosaic | No longer originating | Not applicable | Chapter 11 filed June 6, 2025; portfolio and servicing bought by Solar Servicing (Forbright Bank) in September 2025 |
The practical rule: carry at least two active lenders with different credit boxes. A single-lender shop that lost Mosaic in mid-2025 spent weeks re-papering deals that had already been sold. Our breakdown of Hearth versus Sunlight, Mosaic, and EnerBank covers how those older solar programs compared before the shakeout, which is useful context if you inherited legacy paperwork.
How solar dealer fees work, and why they are now a legal issue
A solar dealer fee is the discount the lender takes when it buys your loan. If a homeowner finances a $25,000 system at a 20 percent dealer fee, the lender funds you roughly $20,000 and the homeowner's loan principal is still $25,000. That gap is how a 3.99 percent advertised APR gets paid for. Nothing about the mechanism is illegal, and it works the same way promotional rates work in every trade, as covered in our explainer on how 0 percent APR contractor financing actually works.
Solar fees are simply much larger than the 3 to 8 percent typical in roofing or HVAC. Published 2026 comparisons put the range at 10 to 30 percent of cash price with an average near 22 percent, and Minnesota's attorney general, in an April 2024 suit against GoodLeap, Sunlight, Mosaic, and Dividend, cited a GoodLeap average fee of about 19.3 percent, roughly $7,552 per loan. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published its own issue spotlight on solar financing covering the same disclosure problems.
What that means operationally: disclose the cash price and the financed price separately on every proposal, and let the homeowner see the difference. Reps who hide the spread create the exact fact pattern regulators are litigating. The same margin arithmetic applies in every trade, and we walk through it in our piece on dealer fees in contractor financing.
Loan, lease, or PPA: how to frame the three options now
Solar contractors in 2026 are selling against a different comparison set than in 2024, because the tax benefit moved from the homeowner to the system owner. Reps need a one-page version of this.
| Structure | Who owns the system | Federal credit in 2026 | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash purchase | Homeowner | None (25D expired) | Buyers focused on long-run cost with capital available |
| Solar loan | Homeowner | None | Buyers who want ownership and added home value, and can absorb the dealer fee in principal |
| Lease or PPA (TPO) | Third-party owner | 48E, claimed by the owner and passed through | Payment-sensitive buyers and low-tax-liability households |
Do not let a rep tell a homeowner that a lease "gets them the tax credit". They do not receive it; the owner claims it and reflects it in the rate. That distinction matters in the same way credit-pull mechanics do, which we cover in how contractor financing affects homeowner credit scores.
What to require from a solar financing partner
- Loan caps above $50,000. Solar plus battery storage regularly clears $40,000, so confirm both the cap and whether solar is an eligible project category before you enroll.
- Soft-pull prequalification. The kitchen-table credit check has to be a soft pull, with the hard pull only at acceptance.
- A published dealer fee schedule per product. If you cannot see the fee for each APR tier before a rep offers it, you cannot price the job.
- Both loan and TPO products. In 2026 you will lose deals a lease could have saved, so carry both or partner for the TPO side.
- Clear funding milestones. Ask what triggers each disbursement, usually install and permission to operate, and how long PTO funding has averaged over the last 90 days.
How to evaluate a solar financing partner
- Confirm the lender is originating today. Ask for current funding volume and the capital partner behind it, then check for recent bankruptcy or wind-down news before signing a dealer agreement. After two bankruptcies in three years, that diligence is normal.
- Get the full fee grid in writing. Every APR tier and term length has its own dealer fee. Model your three most-sold system sizes against each tier.
- Compare net proceeds, not APR. A 2.99 percent product that nets you 74 cents on the dollar is more expensive than a 7.99 percent product that nets 88 cents, unless the lower rate closes materially more jobs.
- Check the credit box against your market. If a meaningful share of your leads fall between 600 and 660, a 660-minimum lender alone will cost you deals.
- Verify funding timelines with references. Call two installers already on the platform and ask how long the PTO milestone payment actually takes.
- Read the dealer agreement's clawback terms. Understand what happens if a system underperforms a production guarantee, if a customer cancels post-install, or if you exit the program mid-pipeline.
- Test the application on a phone. If prequalification takes longer than five minutes in a driveway, your close rate will show it.
Common mistakes solar contractors make with financing
The most costly mistake in 2026 is running proposals that still assume the 30 percent homeowner credit. Every stale template, calculator, and rep script needs an audit.
Second is treating the dealer fee as overhead instead of pricing it into the job. If your cash price and your financed price are the same number, the fee comes straight out of margin on every financed sale, and financed sales are most of them.
Third is depending on one lender. Solar lending has repriced and consolidated repeatedly since 2023, and installers who carried a single partner through the Mosaic filing learned that expensively. Last, reps who mention payments only after a homeowner flinches at the price are handling the objection too late. The scripts in our guide to 10 homeowner financing objections and what to say and our kitchen table financing pitch guide transfer directly to solar.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mosaic still financing solar in 2026?
No. Mosaic filed for Chapter 11 on June 6, 2025 in the Southern District of Texas and no longer originates new loans. Solar Servicing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Forbright Bank, acquired its roughly $8 billion loan portfolio and servicing operation in September 2025, so existing borrowers now pay Solar Servicing rather than Mosaic.
What happened to Sunlight Financial?
Sunlight Financial filed Chapter 11 in October 2023 and was acquired out of bankruptcy by a consortium of solar-industry investors that includes Cross River Bank. It continues to operate as Sunlight Finance and offers solar loan products, but at a much smaller scale than its pre-bankruptcy volume, so verify current program terms directly rather than relying on older dealer materials.
How much do solar dealer fees cost a contractor?
Expect 10 to 30 percent of the cash price depending on the APR tier and term, with 2026 comparisons putting the average near 22 percent. Minnesota's attorney general cited a GoodLeap average of roughly 19.3 percent, about $7,552 per loan, in its April 2024 suit. Lower advertised APRs always carry higher fees.
Can homeowners still get a federal tax credit for solar in 2026?
Only through third-party ownership. The 25D credit for homeowner-purchased systems ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025. Under Section 48E, the owner of a leased or PPA system claims the credit and reflects it in the homeowner's payment, with a July 4, 2026 begin-construction deadline for the four-year safe harbor window.
What credit score do homeowners need for a solar loan?
Minimums cluster between 600 and 660: GoodLeap and EnFin at 600, Sungage at 640, and Dividend at 660. Approval and pricing still depend on debt-to-income and payment history, and the same credit-tier logic applies across trades, as covered in our look at FICO scores and contractor financing.
Can I use a general contractor financing platform for solar?
Sometimes, but check two things first: the loan cap and whether solar is an eligible project category. General home-improvement platforms are built around tickets well under typical solar-plus-storage totals, and some exclude solar outright. If you are new to offering payments at all, start with our beginner's guide to home improvement financing for contractors.
Next step: pull your last 20 proposals, strike every reference to the 30 percent homeowner credit, and rebuild the savings math without it. Then get written fee grids from two active lenders with different credit minimums, model them against your three most-sold system sizes, and add a lease or PPA option before your next selling season.