If you are shopping heating equipment in Tulsa this year, you will meet advertising written for a world that ended on December 31, 2025. Websites still promise the $2,000 federal heat pump tax credit. Salespeople still fold it into payback math. Here is the accurate 2026 picture, what died, what survives, and how to verify every dollar before you count it.
The federal credit is gone, actually gone
The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, the one worth 30 percent up to $2,000 on qualifying heat pumps and up to $600 on furnaces, was terminated by federal legislation signed in July 2025. It applies only to property placed in service by December 31, 2025. A system installed in 2026 does not qualify, regardless of when it was purchased or quoted, and the geothermal-and-solar credit under 25D ended alongside it. Any 2026 quote leaning on a federal credit is either stale or dishonest, and either one tells you something about the quoter.
What survives: the electric side
PSO's Power Forward efficiency program has been offering tiered rebates on air-source heat pumps, several hundred dollars at the base efficiency tier rising above a thousand at the top tier, plus rebates on ductless mini splits, geothermal units, heat pump water heaters, smart thermostats, and professional heat pump tune-ups. Program terms, tiers, and funding change by program year, so treat every number as verify-before-counting, on PSO's own site, at purchase time. We fold current verified amounts into installation quotes as a standard step.
What survives: the gas side
Oklahoma Natural Gas runs its own rebate slate, and it points the opposite direction: money for high-efficiency natural gas furnaces, larger amounts for electric-to-gas conversions, and water heater rebates besides. Same rules apply, active ONG account required, funds are first-come, and amounts change, verify on ONG's site before deciding anything.
Yes, the utilities are pulling opposite directions, and that is useful
PSO pays you toward a heat pump. ONG pays you toward gas equipment. Neither is wrong, each is marketing its own fuel, and a homeowner who understands that can use it: the rebates partially offset whichever direction already fits your house, your fuel situation, and your risk tolerance for the coldest nights. For many Tulsa homes the best engineering answer is the dual-fuel middle path, and depending on the program year, pieces of both rebate slates can apply to a dual-fuel install. That conversation is exactly what a good quote visit is for.
The checklist before you sign anything
- Ask which specific incentives the quote assumes, then verify each on the utility's own site, not the contractor's
- Any mention of a federal tax credit for a 2026 install is a red flag, full stop
- Confirm the quoted equipment tier actually matches the rebate tier claimed
- Remember the 2028 federal furnace efficiency changeover when weighing replace-now against replace-later
- And weigh the repair alternative honestly, our quotes show it beside the replacement number by default
Incentives are the garnish, not the meal. The meal is right-sized equipment, installed correctly, permitted, and commissioned with instruments. Get that right and the rebates are pleasant, get it wrong and no rebate fixes it. Questions about your specific situation cost nothing: (918) 555-0128, any hour.
Talk to a person, any hour
