HEAR — Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates, the program created as HEEHRA by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 — is the most generous federal-origin incentive still available to a heat-pump buyer in 2026. Where the Section 25C and 25D tax credits ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, HEAR is appropriated grant money (about $4.275 billion to state energy offices) routed through the states, so the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not repeal it. For an income-qualified household it pays up to $8,000 toward an ENERGY STAR electric heat pump.
HEAR is income-based rather than efficiency-tiered. A household at or below 80% of its area median income can have up to 100% of the project cost covered, up to the caps; a household between 80% and 150% can have up to 50% covered; and a household above 150% of area median income is not eligible. The heat-pump line is capped at $8,000, within a $14,000 total per household across all eligible electrification measures (which also include heat-pump water heaters, electrical-panel upgrades, and wiring). The equipment must be ENERGY STAR-certified, a bar most quality central heat pumps clear.
The defining feature — and the catch — is that HEAR is run state by state, not claimed on a federal return. Each state energy office stands up its own program, portal, and participating-contractor list, and opens on its own timeline. As of mid-2026 the rollout is uneven: Arizona's Efficiency Arizona program is live and issuing rebates (though it has paused before over federal grant-funding uncertainty), while Texas — through the State Energy Conservation Office — is still in the planning and pre-launch phase with no confirmed launch date. Funding is also finite and first-come; some early states have reserved or exhausted their allocations, which can pause a program with little notice.
For a qualifying heat-pump buyer, the practical path is to check the state's program status before counting HEAR into a budget, use a participating contractor where one is required, and remember that HEAR can often stack on top of a utility rebate (SRP Cool Cash, TEP Efficient Home, Austin Energy, CPS Energy SaveNow) subject to the total-cost caps. Buyers above 150% of area median income get nothing from HEAR and should focus on utility rebates instead.