How to get out of
a solar loan.

The short answer

• Signed in the last few days: you may still be able to cancel the sale and the loan. See how to cancel a solar contract.
• Misled about the price, the rate, or the tax credit: you may have a claim, and the lender may share responsibility.
• No dispute, you just want it gone: pay it off, refinance it, or pay it off when you sell.
• Can’t afford the payment: ask the servicer about hardship options before you miss one.

In every case, start by finding out who holds the loan today and what the payoff really is.

Find out who holds your loan

The installer usually isn’t your lender. Your loan may have been made by one company and serviced by another, and solar loans are often sold or moved, especially after a lender or installer fails. Your monthly statement names the current servicer.

GoodLeap borrowers: see how to get out of a GoodLeap loan. Not on the list? Use the servicer lookup, or call the number on your most recent statement and ask who owns the loan and where payments go. Get the answer in writing.

Know what you actually owe

Before you decide anything, get these three numbers in writing:

1. The payoff amount, with the date it’s good through. It’s not the same as the balance on your statement.
2. The re-amortization date, if your loan has one, and the payment it resets to.
3. The cash price of the same system, from the installer or the lender’s file. The gap between that and your amount financed shows how much was added for financing.

Also ask for the itemization of the amount financed from your loan closing. It shows what was paid to whom.

Watch for the payment jump

Many solar loans assume you’ll make a large prepayment, often about 30 percent of the balance, within the first 12 to 18 months, usually from the federal tax credit. If you don’t, the payment can rise sharply. The CFPB flagged this pattern in its 2024 report.

Find the re-amortization date in your loan agreement and the payment it resets to. If you can’t make the prepayment, ask the servicer in writing what the new payment will be before the date arrives, not after.

Systems installed in 2026: the 30% federal credit isn’t available for systems installed after December 31, 2025, according to the IRS. If your loan was built around a paydown from a credit you’ll never get, that’s a problem with how it was sold. Keep the proposal and every message about the credit. More in the tax credit ended, but the loan didn’t.

Check for a dealer fee

A low advertised rate can hide a large markup built into the loan balance. The fee is paid to the lender up front, added to what you borrow, and you pay interest on it. It doesn’t come back if you pay off early or sell.

Compare your amount financed to the cash price of the system, if you can get it. The dealer fee calculator estimates the markup from your lender, term, and rate, and solar dealer fees, explained covers what to ask the lender. If you were told the rate was simply low and never told a large part of the loan was a financing charge, that may matter. In 2024, Minnesota’s attorney general sued four solar lenders, alleging hidden dealer fees.

Payoff, refinance, or sale

More on selling in selling a house with a solar loan, and on the filing in removing a solar UCC filing.

When the lender may share responsibility

If the installer arranged the loan, your loan contract probably contains the FTC Holder Rule notice, a paragraph in capital letters that begins “NOTICE: ANY HOLDER OF THIS CONSUMER CREDIT CONTRACT.” Where it applies:

• Claims you have against the seller, such as misrepresentation or an unfinished system, can be raised against whoever holds the loan.
• It still applies after the loan is sold and after the installer goes bankrupt.
• Recovery is generally capped at what you’ve paid. At best, the remaining balance is canceled and your payments come back.

You still have to prove what the seller did, and many loan contracts send disputes to arbitration. More in the FTC Holder Rule and your solar loan.

The three-year right to rescind. It applies only to credit secured by your home, and it can run up to three years when key disclosures were missing. Most solar loans are secured by the equipment through a UCC-1 filing, and lenders argue that isn’t the same thing. Ask an attorney whether it reaches your loan. See the right to cancel a solar loan.

If you can’t make the payment

Call the servicer before you miss a payment, not after. Ask about:

• Forbearance, a short pause or reduction in payments
• A loan modification, such as a longer term or a lower payment
• A different due date that lines up with your income

Get any agreement in writing, including how it will be reported to the credit bureaus. If the servicer won’t work with you, a complaint to the CFPB often gets a written answer. If the loan is already in collections, see what to do when a solar debt goes to collections.

Mistakes to avoid

1. Stopping payments as a protest. It hurts your credit and your case. See what happens if you stop paying.
2. Refinancing without comparing total cost. A lower payment over a longer term can cost more.
3. Paying off without confirming the release. Make sure the UCC-1 filing is terminated, and get a copy.
4. Assuming the tax credit will cover the paydown. It only offsets tax you owe, and it’s gone for systems installed after 2025.

Related guides

• How to get out of a solar contract
• How to get out of a GoodLeap loan
• Lease, PPA, or loan?