That is a short list, and it is shorter than many pages still suggest. The federal credit was the big one: the IRS describes a credit of up to $3,200 a year for qualifying home improvements, but "You can claim the credit for improvements made through December 31, 2025." [1] A contractor or a website that quotes that credit for a 2026 installation is quoting a program that has ended.
This guide puts every Florida AC incentive we could find on one dated table, with the condition that decides whether it applies to you. It reflects the rules and programs as read on the publish date. Check back if an agency page changes.
Key takeaways
- The federal 25C credit does not cover an AC installed in 2026 [1].
- FPL's $200 instant rebate is live, with conditions on the equipment and on who installs it [2] [3].
- Florida's HOMES and HEEHR rebate programs have not launched [4].
- Neither of Florida's 2026 sales tax holidays covers an air conditioner [5].
- Want help pricing a replacement? Call or text Direct Cooling at (561) 210-7605.
Florida AC Incentives in 2026 at a Glance
This guide checks the four programs Florida homeowners most often ask about. One is live: FPL's instant rebate for its customers. One has ended: the federal tax credit. One is announced but not open: the state's HOMES and HEEHR rebates. And one never applied: Florida's sales tax holidays do not include air conditioners.
| Program | Run by | Status for a 2026 install | Deciding condition | Source, as read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit (25C) | IRS | Ended | Property placed in service before December 31, 2025 | IRS, page reviewed April 28, 2026 [1] |
| AC instant rebate, $200 | FPL | Live | SEER2 15.2 or higher, both units new, installed by an FPL participating contractor | FPL program page and certificate, Rev. October 10, 2025 [2] [3] |
| HOMES and HEEHR rebates | Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services | Not open | "expected to launch in the future" | Florida Energy Saver Program portal [4] |
| Sales tax holidays | Florida Department of Revenue | Not applicable | 2026 holidays cover back to school and hunting, fishing and camping | Florida Department of Revenue [5] |
The table is ours: we read each agency page directly and put the results side by side. No single agency publishes this comparison.
The Federal Credit: Ended for 2026 Installs
The federal Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, often called 25C, covered qualifying central air conditioners and heat pumps installed from 2023 through 2025. The IRS ties it to the date the equipment was placed in service, meaning installed and working, not the date you paid. For an AC installed in 2026, it does not apply.
The IRS wording is exact: "The credit is allowed for qualifying property placed in service on or after Jan. 1, 2023, and before December 31, 2025." [1] The page carries a review date of April 28, 2026, so it was read after the deadline had passed.
Some pages still read as if the credit is current. ENERGY STAR's federal tax credit page, as read on October 17, 2026, still opens with "There are federal tax credits available through the end of 2025" [6]. That sentence is accurate about 2025. It says nothing about 2026, and it is easy to read past the year.
If a quote you received lists a federal tax credit for a 2026 installation, ask the contractor which program and which IRS page they mean. Our guide to how to read the quote line by line covers the other lines worth checking.
Want help pricing a replacement? Call or text Direct Cooling at (561) 210-7605, or see how we approach AC replacement.
The FPL Rebate and Its Two Conditions
FPL gives an instant rebate as a credit on the installation invoice. Two conditions decide it. The equipment must be a new residential system, both indoor and outdoor units, rated SEER2 15.2 or higher. And the installation must be done by one of FPL's approved Participating Independent Contractors. Miss either one and there is no rebate.
FPL's program page puts it plainly: "Use one of our qualified contractors on your project and receive an instant $200 rebate as a credit on your invoice." [2] Its list of requirements is "A new A/C system purchase, including both indoor and outdoor units", a "SEER2 15.2 rated unit and above", a "Residential home installation", and "Installation completed by one of our FPL-approved PICs." [2]
The paperwork has a clock on it. FPL's rebate certificate is marked "VOID AFTER 90 DAYS FROM DATE OF INSTALLATION" and asks for your FPL customer account number [3]. So the rebate is for FPL customers. If your power comes from a different utility, ask that utility what it offers. That matters in a few places in our area: the City of Lake Worth Beach, for example, is a separate city from the unincorporated Lake Worth area west of it, as our page on AC repair in Lake Worth explains.
Is Direct Cooling an FPL participating contractor? No, not at present. Frank Rey, Direct Cooling's owner, confirmed that the company is no longer in FPL's program. A system we install does not qualify for the FPL rebate. If the rebate decides your purchase, ask any contractor directly whether they are on FPL's list today.
For scale, the federal minimum for a new split-system air conditioner in Florida is 14.3 SEER2 below 45,000 Btu per hour of capacity [7], so FPL's 15.2 threshold sits above that floor.
State Programs: Announced, Not Open
Florida has two federally funded home energy rebate programs, HOMES and HEEHR, run through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. As of the publish date, both are "expected to launch in the future", and no application is open. HEEHR is limited to lower- and moderate-income households.
The state's portal says: "The High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebates (HEEHR) and Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) programs are expected to launch in the future." [4] It describes HEEHR as "exclusively for low- and moderate-income households (less than 150% Area Median Income)", and says "Applications are expected to open in the future." [4] The page invites homeowners to register so they are notified when applications open.
What that means for a replacement you need now: plan without them. A program that has not opened has no application, no published rebate schedule for your household and no date. If your system can wait, registering costs nothing. If your system has failed in October in Palm Beach County, it cannot wait for a program with no launch date. We will update this section when the portal changes.
Why Efficiency Still Pays Without a Credit
With the tax credit gone, the case for a more efficient air conditioner rests on the power bill. Florida homes use far more electricity than the national average, much of it for cooling, and FPL's rates rose in January 2026 with another increase set for January 2027. A more efficient system lowers a cost that is going up.
The numbers start with Florida's bills. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that Florida residential customers averaged 1,104 kWh a month and a $156.09 monthly bill in 2024, against a national average of 863 kWh and $142.26 [8]. In its 2020 household survey, the EIA counted 33.8 billion kWh used for air conditioning in Florida homes, plus 5.4 billion kWh for air handlers used for cooling [9].
FPL's prices are rising. The Florida Public Service Commission approved increases designed to generate "$945 million in additional annual revenues beginning January 1, 2026," and "An additional increase to generate $705 million annually will take effect January 1, 2027." [10] The PSC put a typical peninsular Florida bill for 1,000 kWh at $136.64 in January 2026, a $2.50 increase [10].
ENERGY STAR's guidance is to consider replacing an air conditioner more than 10 years old, and it says certified units, "Installed correctly, these high-efficiency units can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs." [11] That "installed correctly" matters as much as the rating. Frank Rey says the most common problem he finds when his team takes over another installer's system is equipment that was never set up for South Florida's weather. We install American Standard systems and Rheem systems, and in larger newer homes such as those covered on our page for AC repair and replacement in Parkland, the efficiency tier is worth pricing both ways.
If the price gap is what stands in the way, Direct Cooling offers financing through Wisetack and Synchrony. Ask about it when you call.
Questions About Florida AC Rebates
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Tap a question to ask
- What is the current air conditioner rebate program in Florida?
- For FPL customers, it is FPL's instant rebate, a credit on the invoice, for a new SEER2 15.2 or higher system installed by an FPL participating contractor. The state's HOMES and HEEHR programs are announced but not open. If your power comes from another utility, check its programs.
- Is there a federal tax credit for a new AC in 2026?
- No. The IRS allows the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit only for qualifying property placed in service before December 31, 2025. An AC installed in 2026 does not qualify.
- How long will R-410A Freon be available?
- For repairs, the EPA says homeowners can keep maintaining and repairing existing systems through the useful life of the equipment. For replacements, a May 2026 EPA rule lets residential equipment made or imported before January 1, 2025 be installed until that inventory runs out. No one can promise how long that supply lasts.
Plan Around the Money That Exists
For a Florida air conditioner installed in 2026, plan around three things that are real: FPL's $200 instant rebate if you are an FPL customer and your installer is on FPL's list [2], a power bill that is rising [10], and the efficiency of the system you choose. Leave the federal credit and the state programs out of the math until an agency page says otherwise.
Direct Cooling is a Florida Certified Air Conditioning Contractor, license CAC1819111, with our shop in West Boca Raton. We are not an FPL participating contractor at present, and we will say so before you sign anything.
Call or text (561) 210-7605 to price a replacement, or ask us about financing through Wisetack and Synchrony.
References
- Internal Revenue Service. Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit. Last reviewed April 28, 2026. irs.gov/credits-deductions/energy-efficient-home-improvement-credit...
- Florida Power & Light. A/C Rebate Program. No date shown. fpl.com/save/programs/ac-rebate.html
- Florida Power & Light. Air Conditioning Rebate Certificate. Rev. October 10, 2025. fpl.com/partner/pdf/hvac-rebate-certificate.pdf
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Florida Energy Saver Program. No date shown. floridaenergysaverprogram.fdacs.gov/en-US/
- Florida Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Holidays. 2026. floridarevenue.com/Pages/SalesTaxHolidays.aspx
- ENERGY STAR. Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency. No date shown. energystar.gov/about/federal-tax-credits
- U.S. Department of Energy. 2023 Central Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Standards FAQ. October 5, 2022. www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/pdfs/2023_CAC_Stand...
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. Electric Sales, Revenue and Average Price, Table 5A, 2024. 2024 data. eia.gov/electricity/sales_revenue_price/pdf/table_5A.pdf
- U.S. Energy Information Administration. Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020, Table CE5.1.ST. Released June 2023. eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2020/state/pdf/ce5.1.st.pdf
- Florida Public Service Commission. FPSC Approves Plan Reducing FPL's Initial Rate Request and Enabling Reliability Investments. November 20, 2025. floridapsc.com/news-links/12299
- ENERGY STAR. When Is It Time to Replace? No date shown. energystar.gov/saveathome/heating-cooling/replace
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Frequent Questions on the Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons. Updated September 14, 2026. epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/frequent-questions-phasedown-hydrofluor...
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Fact Sheet: Final Rule Revising the 2023 Technology Transitions Rule. May 2026. epa.gov/system/files/documents/2026-05/fact-sheet-san-12166-technology...
