Xcel rebate deadlines and how to apply

How to apply for an Xcel rebate

• Heat pumps. Your installer files it. Xcel pays ducted heat pump rebates only through its participating contractors, so ask before you sign.
• Furnace, smart thermostat and heat pump water heater. You can file these yourself through Xcel's online application, with the paid invoice and the model and serial numbers. Xcel doesn't accept an estimate as proof.
• Deadline. Your own application has to reach Xcel by September 30 of the year after the install.

The date each program counts

• Xcel counts the install and invoice dates. For the old bonus, the system had to be installed and invoiced before October 1, 2026, and the application had to reach Xcel by October 15, 2026. The contract date never counted.
• Power Ahead Colorado counts preapproval. The contractor files before work starts, and the project has to finish on or after June 29, 2026, when the program opened.
• The State of Colorado discount counts the install date. A registered contractor claims it after the heat pump goes in.
• The federal 25C credit ended for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025. Nothing installed in 2026 gets it.
• Xcel's Aurora F-3 Project counts invoices dated June 22 through December 31, 2026, inside its mapped area.
• Xcel's furnace rebate counts the install and invoice date, which has to be in 2026. Xcel drops it on January 1, 2027.

If someone else installed yours in September

Ask when their Xcel application went in. Anything that reached Xcel after October 15 gets the reduced amount.

Keep these four papers

1. The paid invoice, with each rebate on its own line.
2. The AHRI certificate for the indoor and outdoor match.
3. Model and serial numbers for every piece of equipment.
4. The application confirmation from each program.

See what Xcel pays now, read what changed on October 1, or run the rebate finder for your house.