The CPS Energy SaveNow HVAC rebate is San Antonio's residential cooling-and-heating incentive, and its official specification applies the same per-ton structure to a 'central heat pump or ductless mini split.' That makes it one of the clearer Texas programs for ductless: the rebate scales with both the system's SEER2 tier and whether you're replacing a working system (early replacement) or a failed one (replace-on-burnout).
Early-replacement rebates run from $115/ton at the entry tier up to $310/ton for SEER2 20.0+, while replace-on-burnout rebates run from $90/ton up to $275/ton at the top tier. On a 3-ton mini-split at the highest early-replacement tier, that's roughly $930. The minimum to qualify is SEER2 14.3 / EER2 11.7 / HSPF2 7.5 — the federal heat-pump floor — and a good inverter mini-split reaches the upper tiers where the per-ton payout is largest.
Unlike Austin Energy's contractor-filed model, CPS Energy's rebate is filed by the homeowner through the SaveNow online portal after the work is done, paid to the customer. The catch is the window: the application and supporting documents are due within 30 days of completion — tighter than most programs' 90 days — so gather the AHRI certificate, invoice, and equipment details up front. SaveNow runs on an annual program-year cycle, so confirm the current dates and per-ton tiers on the CPS Energy SaveNow site before counting the rebate into a quote. As with the rest of Texas, the federal 25C heat-pump tax credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, leaving the utility rebate as the main offset for 2026 installs.