Minnesota Window Rebates and Tax Credits in 2026

No, not for windows installed this year. The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit under Section 25C was terminated for property placed in service after December 31, 2025, as a result of the federal law signed July 4, 2025 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). ENERGY STAR's federal tax credit page and the IRS Form 5695 instructions for 2025 describe the credit as applying to property placed in service through December 31, 2025.

If your windows were installed and in service on or before December 31, 2025, you can still claim them on your 2025 federal return, even though you are filing in 2026. The 2025 rules for windows were 30 percent of qualifying cost, subject to an annual cap for exterior windows and skylights inside an overall building-envelope limit, as described in the IRS Form 5695 instructions. For property placed in service after December 31, 2024, the window had to be produced by a qualified manufacturer and the return had to include a product identification number (PIN) from that manufacturer.

For windows installed in 2026, there is nothing to claim federally unless Congress changes the law again. If a salesperson tells you a 2026 window purchase qualifies for a federal credit, ask them to show you the current IRS page.

CenterPoint Energy publishes a 2026 Minnesota residential window rebate. According to its 2026 application, the program applies to Minnesota homes heated with natural gas from CenterPoint, rebates are issued only for windows installed between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2026, and the windows must serve a conditioned living space.

The two lines on the 2026 application: ENERGY STAR Version 7.0 windows installed by a CenterPoint-eligible installer qualify for a $50 rebate per window, and low-E storm windows, which may be self-installed or installed by an eligible installer, qualify for a $25 rebate per window (amounts as printed on CenterPoint's 2026 window rebate application, read September 2026). Self-installed replacement windows are not eligible. Applications must be postmarked by December 31, 2026, are processed in the order received, and funds are limited.

Two practical points. First, the installer-eligibility rule means you should ask your installer whether they are on CenterPoint's list before the job, not after. Second, Version 7.0 is the current ENERGY STAR specification, so the window has to carry the current label, not an older one from a leftover unit.

Xcel Energy's published Minnesota residential rebate summary for 2024 through 2026 is built around insulation, air sealing, heat pumps, thermostats and similar measures. We did not find a window rebate in the Xcel materials we could verify. That does not prove there is none, so if Xcel supplies your electricity or gas, check the residential rebates page or the digital application directly before assuming either way. Xcel's insulation and air sealing rebates may still apply to work done around a window project, such as attic insulation or whole-house air sealing.

Minnesota Power, which serves northeastern Minnesota rather than the Twin Cities, lists an ENERGY STAR Window Rebate valid on purchases made January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026. Qualifying windows must be installed within Minnesota Power's service area or that of a participating municipal utility, mailed requests must be postmarked no later than January 15, 2027, and the offer cannot be combined with another Minnesota Power offer. We could not verify the per-window amount, so get it from Minnesota Power's rebate page or form.

Other Minnesota gas and electric utilities and some cities run their own programs, and a few cities layer a bonus on top of a utility rebate. The Center for Energy and Environment is a useful starting point for metro programs. Search by your utility's name plus 'window rebate' and look for a dated application form, not a third-party summary.

There are two ENERGY STAR tiers for windows. The standard ENERGY STAR label means the window meets the Version 7.0 criteria for its climate zone; Minnesota is Northern, where the prescriptive criterion is a U-factor of 0.22 or lower with an SHGC of at least 0.17, or an equivalent-performance combination. ENERGY STAR Most Efficient is a yearly recognition for the top-performing products, and the Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center describes the Most Efficient window criterion as a U-factor of 0.20 or lower, which in practice means triple-glazed units.

Most Efficient mattered because it was the eligibility gate for the federal 25C window credit through 2025. With that credit ended for 2026 installs, Most Efficient is now mainly a shopping signal: a window on the current Most Efficient list is among the best-insulating you can buy, and the list is re-issued each year, so check the current year's list rather than an old sticker.

For utility rebates, read the program's own criteria. CenterPoint's 2026 application, for example, keys on ENERGY STAR Version 7.0, not on Most Efficient.

Every incentive we found keys on the window's certified rating, and the rating comes from the glass package and frame together. The NFRC label on the glass is what gets a window onto an ENERGY STAR list: pane count, low-E coating and surface, gas fill, spacer and frame all feed the U-factor. The base glass on a value line usually lands above the Northern threshold; the cold-climate or triple-pane upgrade is what gets it under. Order by the NFRC numbers of the exact configuration, not the package name.

The install does not change the label, but it changes whether you get the performance the label promises and, for CenterPoint, whether you get the rebate at all: that program requires an eligible installer and excludes self-installed replacement windows. The install items that protect the rating in a Minnesota wall are a sill pan, self-adhered flashing lapped into the housewrap, low-expansion foam in the shim gap, and backer rod and sealant at the interior air seal. Ask for them on the quote.

Rebate and credit programs ask for the same short list of documents. Gather them as the job happens rather than reconstructing them in December.

1. 1The NFRC label from every window. Photograph each one on the glass before it is peeled off, with the size and serial visible.
2. 2The manufacturer's certification statement or ENERGY STAR product listing for the exact configuration, and for any 2025 federal claim, the qualified manufacturer's product identification number.
3. 3The itemized invoice showing the window cost separately from labor and trim, with the install date. Utility programs key on install date; the federal credit keyed on placed-in-service date.
4. 4The installer's name, address and Minnesota license number, and proof they are on the utility's eligible-installer list if the program requires one.
5. 5Your utility account number and the program's dated application form, submitted before its postmark deadline.
6. 6Photos of the finished windows in place, which some programs and most insurers like to see.

JMB Builders is a licensed Minnesota residential building contractor (BC809005) based in Zimmerman, working across the Twin Cities metro. One crew installs and trims windows from any brand; we sell none and give no tax advice. Quotes come from your photos within one business day, itemized so window, labor and trim are separate lines, and we keep the NFRC labels and install dates for your file. Paid by check or direct deposit.

• Install a window you bought online or at a store, labor only — jmbbuildersmn.com/services/doors/install-window-bought-online
• Which windows to buy for a labor-only install — jmbbuildersmn.com/services/labor-only/which-window-brand-to-buy-for-labor-only-install
• Andersen product lines we install — jmbbuildersmn.com/brands/andersen
• Pella product lines we install — jmbbuildersmn.com/brands/pella
• Send three photos per window, written quote within one business day.