Status checked September 1, 2026 · Federal HER/HEAR is not described as live
The 2026 program is live; the federal layer is not confirmed
Mass Save's 2026 air-source heat-pump program covers equipment installed from January 1 through December 31, 2026, with applications and documentation due by February 28, 2027 (Mass Save ASHP rules). The standard whole-home offer is $2,650 per ton up to $8,500, while a partial-home installation pays $1,125 per ton up to the same cap (Mass Save ASHP rebate table).
The Department of Energy Resources intends to integrate $145.9 million of Home Efficiency Rebates and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates into Mass Save. But its official page says federal approval of a State Implementation Blueprint is required before launch, and no official page fetched for this review confirms customer-facing delivery by September 1, 2026 (DOER federal funding update). These federal programs should not be described as live.
The regulatory backdrop is tighter than the headline checks suggest. In February 2025 the Department of Public Utilities cut $500 million from the 2025–2027 plan, including 25% from residential gas budgets and 15% from residential electric budgets, while approving a statewide electrification pool (DPU announcement).
The rebate measures the house, not only the machine
Massachusetts splits air-source incentives into whole-home, partial-home and basic tiers. Whole-home means the heat pump is the sole source of heating and cooling and the customer files a signed verification form. Partial-home allows an existing boiler or furnace to remain, but zones that still use fossil heat need an integrated control; fully displaced zones must have the old equipment removed or disconnected and documented. The $250-per-ton basic tier applies when the system is not displacing fossil fuel or electric resistance heat (Mass Save ASHP requirements).
The top standard tier also has a bright-line weatherization test. A home qualifies if it was built in 2000 or later, if a Home Energy Assessment recommends less than $1,000 of weatherization, or if recommendations made in or after 2013 were completed. A system installed for whole-home heating in a house that fails the test may receive only partial-home amounts (Mass Save weatherization rules).
Income-based enhanced help is reserved for homes moving away from oil, propane or electric resistance, not natural gas. It pays up to $16,000 for air-source or air-to-water heat pumps, or up to no cost through turnkey service, after recommended weatherization is complete (Mass Save enhanced rebates). For the 2025–2026 heating season, a four-person household qualified for the enhanced band at income from $99,574 through $132,764; limits vary by ZIP code and household size (Mass Save income-based offers).
Mass Save generally bars combining its incentives for the same equipment, and its water-heater offer cannot be combined with another utility or efficiency-provider offer for that unit (ASHP terms; HPWH terms). Seasonal heat-pump electric rates are now available from Massachusetts electric utilities to reduce winter electricity costs for qualifying homes (Mass Save enhanced-offer page).
The state beat its six-year target, then slowed
Massachusetts counted 133,753 households with Mass Save-supported heat pumps as their primary heating system from 2020 through 2025, exceeding the state's 100,000-home goal a year early (2025 Massachusetts Climate Report Card). The next statutory-scale objective cited by the state is at least 500,000 homes between 2020 and 2030 (Climate Report Card).
But 2025 came in below plan. Program administrators reported heat pumps in 31,696 homes against a 38,710 target, or 82%. Non-income-qualified installations reached 95% of their goal, low-income installations 80%, and moderate-income installations only 52%. Rental units reached 94% (EEAC Q4 2025 report).
2025 heat-pump participation · actual as a share of plan
The state climate report counted 30,567 primary-heating installations in calendar 2025, including 9,643 that fully displaced fossil systems and 3,935 in income-eligible households; it labels those figures preliminary and excludes municipal-lighting-plant and non-incentivized installations (Climate Report Card).
The weatherization cliff is worth $4,575 on a three-ton system
Assume a 1965 home replaces an oil boiler with a three-ton ducted system. At 2026 rates, passing the weatherization and sole-source tests yields 3 × $2,650 = $7,950. Failing the weatherization test and dropping to partial-home rates yields 3 × $1,125 = $3,375 (Mass Save rates and qualification rules).
$7,950 whole-home − $3,375 partial-home = $4,575 weatherization swing
A partial-home project can add a $500 weatherization bonus and a $500 sizing bonus, reaching $4,375 when both requirements are met (Mass Save bonus terms). A four-person household earning $110,000 falls within the published enhanced-income band and could qualify for up to $16,000 or turnkey service, subject to the fuel and weatherization rules (income table; enhanced offer).
The practical lesson is that envelope work is part of the financing decision. For a market-rate household, the difference between the top and partial tiers can pay for meaningful preparatory work. For an income-qualified oil, propane or resistance-heated home, no-cost weatherization plus an enhanced or turnkey installation can change a replacement from unaffordable to feasible. Mass Save also offers 0% HEAT Loan financing (Mass Save ground-source page).
Bottom line
Massachusetts has a functioning 2026 heat-pump program, but the maximum standard check is conditional. A household should obtain the Home Energy Assessment, resolve the weatherization classification and choose an installer in the required network before assuming the whole-home amount. Income-qualified customers should enter through the income-based pathway, especially when replacing oil, propane or electric resistance. Federal HER and HEAR money may eventually deepen those offers, but it is not confirmed as customer-facing on the evidence available September 1, 2026.
Participation documents
- Air-source heat-pump rebate pageRequirements, application steps and forms.
- Income-based offersIncome verification and current table.
- Enhanced heating and coolingUp to $16,000 or turnkey ASHP path.
- Ground-source heat-pump rebatesTerms, cost example and financing.
- Heat-pump water heatersMail-in and instant-rebate paths.
- DOER federal funding statusOfficial HER/HEAR design and approval status.