Should I buy out my solar lease?

Buy out when the quote is below the value of the remaining payments in today’s money, by more than you expect to spend on repairs. Enter your numbers above: the result shows the gap directly.

Why does the buyout price fall over time?

Each year you pay reduces what the lessor still expects to collect. Many contracts set buyout windows (often after year 5 or 6) with a schedule of declining prices.

What discount rate should I use?

What the buyout cash would otherwise earn, or the rate you would pay to borrow it. A higher rate makes future payments worth less and the buyout less attractive.

Does buying out a lease qualify for the federal solar credit?

No. §25D ended for property placed in service after 31 December 2025, and buying an existing leased system was not new property placed in service anyway.

Is a buyout better than transferring the lease when I sell?

Not always. A transfer costs the buyer the remaining payments; a buyout costs you a lump sum. Run the numbers both ways and see our page on transferring a solar lease.

HyreSolar tools

Solar lease buyout calculator

For homeowners holding a buyout quote from a leasing company, or selling a house with a lease attached.

Checked September 3, 2026. Data as of October 22, 2026. HyreSolar sells and installs nothing.

This solar lease buyout calculator gives an estimate from your own numbers in under a minute, with every assumption listed under the result.

A buyout is worth taking when it costs less than the payments it cancels, valued in today’s money.

At $120 a month rising 2.9% a year with 15 years left, the remaining payments total $26,587; discounted at 5% they are worth about $18,370 today. A buyout quote below that saves money.

A quote above it does not, unless something else (a house sale, a lessor in trouble) is the real reason to buy.

The payments have to be compared in today’s money because $120 paid in year 15 costs you less than $120 paid now. Leasing companies quote buyout figures that already reflect this kind of discounting from their side, so a fair comparison needs it from yours.

The discount rate is what your cash would otherwise earn, or the interest rate on whatever you would borrow to pay the buyout. Change it and watch the answer move: it is usually the input that decides close cases.

The other half of the decision is what a buyout hands you. During a lease the leasing company normally carries repairs, monitoring and the production guarantee.

After a buyout those are yours, including the inverter that will probably need replacing before the panels do.

The calculator does not price that risk, so read the result as the most a buyout is worth before you take on maintenance.

Buyout vs keep the lease

The payments a buyout cancels, valued in today’s money.

Example values The filled-in numbers are an example, not your home. Type over them with your own.

— Result

— Payments left, today’s money

— Payments left, undiscounted

— Breakeven

How this result was worked out

Working it out from the numbers above.

Before repairs and inverter replacement, which move to you after a buyout.

HyreSolar does not lease, finance or buy solar systems.

What the result means

A positive saving means the buyout price is below the value of the payments it cancels. It is not yet a recommendation: subtract what you expect to spend on repairs and an inverter over the remaining years, then decide.

The breakeven year counts actual dollars, not discounted ones. It answers a simpler question: how many years of payments add up to the buyout price. If it falls past the end of the term, the buyout costs more than every remaining payment combined.

A negative saving is a common, useful answer. Early in a lease, buyout quotes often include the lessor’s lost tax benefits and margin. Keeping the lease, or asking for a lower figure, is then the right move.

Saving over $3,000: Worth pursuing. Confirm the quote is in writing, check what warranties transfer, then budget for an inverter.
Within $3,000 either way: Close. Repairs and inverter risk usually decide it against buying. Ask the lessor whether the figure falls if you wait a year.
Cost over $3,000: The quote is high for what it cancels. Keep the lease or negotiate.

How to use it

Where each input comes from, so nothing is a guess.

1. Enter the monthly payment you pay now

The current figure, after any escalator increases already applied.

Where to find it: Your latest lease statement or online account.

2. Enter the escalator

The yearly percentage increase written into the contract. Zero if the payment is flat.

Where to find it: The payment schedule in your lease agreement. Our escalator calculator shows what it does over a full term.

3. Enter the years left

Whole years remaining on the term. Round down if you are mid-year.

Where to find it: The lease start date plus the term, usually 20 or 25 years.

4. Enter the buyout quote

The figure the leasing company gave you in writing, including any fees.

Where to find it: Ask the lessor for a written buyout or purchase-option quote. Many contracts set fixed buyout windows.

5. Choose a discount rate

What your money would otherwise earn, or the rate on a loan you would use to pay the buyout.

Where to find it: A savings account yield, or the APR on a home equity loan offer.

Assumptions

1
Payments rise once a year
Year one is 12 × the current payment. Each later year is multiplied by (1 + escalator).
2
Each year is discounted to today
Payments are treated as paid mid-year, so year y is divided by (1 + discount rate)^(y + 0.5).
3
The buyout is paid today
It is not discounted. The saving is the discounted payments minus the buyout.
4
No federal credit
A buyout of a used system is not new property placed in service, and §25D ended for property placed in service after 31 December 2025 in any case.

The formula, in full. PV = Σ (payment × 12 × (1 + escalator)^y) ÷ (1 + discount)^(y + 0.5), for y = 0 to years − 1. Saving = PV − buyout. Breakeven = first year in which cumulative undiscounted payments ≥ buyout.

A worked example, start to finish

A lease at $120 a month with a 2.9% escalator, 15 years left, a 5% discount rate and a $15,000 buyout quote.

Step	Value
Payments left, undiscounted	$26,587
Payments left, in today’s money	$18,369
Buyout quote	$15,000
Breakeven	Year 10 of 15
Result	Buying out is cheaper by $3,369

Before maintenance. If you expect to replace an inverter in those 15 years, take its cost off the $3,369 before deciding.

Common mistakes with this calculation

Comparing the buyout with undiscounted payments
Adding up every remaining payment overstates what they are worth today and makes almost any buyout look good.
Forgetting maintenance moves to you
The production guarantee and repair cover usually end with the lease. Ask in writing which warranties transfer.
Assuming the panels will produce as new
Panels lose output with age; a large review found median losses of 0.5-0.6% per year. An older system makes less power for you after the buyout than it did in year one.

Next step

If the buyout saves money, get the quote in writing with the transfer of warranties and monitoring spelled out, and check the system against our inverter replacement planner and what an inverter replacement costs.

Our guide to solar lease buyouts and our page on lease buyout costs cover buyout windows and what to ask the lessor.

If you are selling the house, read transferring a solar lease when you sell first: a transfer to the buyer is often cheaper than a buyout.

If you would rather compare the buyout with a new owned system, send your result to an installer using the form under the calculator.

Embed this calculator

Free to use on any site, including news and installer pages. Paste this where you want the calculator to appear. Keep the credit line: it is the only condition.

<iframe src="https://hyresolar.com/tools/lease-buyout-calculator/#calc" title="Solar lease buyout calculator by HyreSolar" width="100%" height="900" loading="lazy" style="border:0"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://hyresolar.com/tools/lease-buyout-calculator/">Solar lease buyout calculator</a> by HyreSolar</p>

What this calculator leaves out

The result is a planning estimate. A real proposal accounts for these; this page does not.

Does not price repairs, insurance or inverter replacement after the buyout.
Those move to you and can be several thousand dollars.
Assumes the payment rises once a year by a fixed percentage.
Contracts with step changes need the steps entered as an average.
Does not value electricity after the lease term ends.
Many contracts let you renew, buy at fair market value or have the system removed.
Not legal or tax advice.
Your contract’s purchase-option clause decides what a buyout includes.

Questions this calculator answers

Should I buy out my solar lease?: Buy out when the quote is below the value of the remaining payments in today’s money, by more than you expect to spend on repairs. Enter your numbers above: the result shows the gap directly.
Why does the buyout price fall over time?: Each year you pay reduces what the lessor still expects to collect. Many contracts set buyout windows (often after year 5 or 6) with a schedule of declining prices.
What discount rate should I use?: What the buyout cash would otherwise earn, or the rate you would pay to borrow it. A higher rate makes future payments worth less and the buyout less attractive.
Does buying out a lease qualify for the federal solar credit?: No. §25D ended for property placed in service after 31 December 2025, and buying an existing leased system was not new property placed in service anyway.
Is a buyout better than transferring the lease when I sell?: Not always. A transfer costs the buyer the remaining payments; a buyout costs you a lump sum. Run the numbers both ways and see our page on transferring a solar lease.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated October 22, 2026. Last reviewed September 3, 2026 by the HyreSolar research desk, which writes and checks every tool on this site.

Residential Clean Energy Credit (§25D) (Internal Revenue Service, retrieved October 22, 2026). Credit unavailable for property placed in service after 31 December 2025.
Compendium of photovoltaic degradation rates (Jordan et al., Progress in Photovoltaics (record held by OSTI), retrieved September 5, 2026).

Related solar tools

Lease escalator calculator What a yearly payment increase turns the lease payment into by the final year.
Lease vs buy calculator Twenty-five years of lease payments against the cash or financed price.
Inverter replacement planner The year inverter cover ends and how long the panels run on without it.

All 28 solar tools

Your real numbers come from a proposal drawn for your roof, your usage and your utility. Tell us about your home: a person reads it, and nothing goes to a solar company until you agree.

Get Solar Quotes How we check companies