The headline number most Beverly homeowners remember from last year no longer applies. The 2026 Mass Save program retired the $10,000 whole-home cap and replaced it with a per-ton structure that pays $2,650 per ton up to $8,500, and the federal Section 25C tax credit that used to stack on top expired December 31, 2025. If you’ve been pricing a heat pump based on what you read in 2025, those calculations need to be redone.
We’re laying this out because homeowners on the North Shore are making real decisions right now, trying to time an installation before winter. Getting the numbers wrong at the planning stage means leaving money on the table or misreading what a project will actually cost. Morris Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning is a member of the Mass Save Heat Pump Leaders Network (HPLN), the program’s highest tier of heat pump installers, which means we work directly inside the rebate system and see where the confusion tends to happen.
Here’s what the 2026 program actually pays, where the income-based bonuses come in, and what Beverly homeowners need to know before signing anything.
What Mass Save Actually Pays for a Heat Pump in 2026
The program sorts installations into three tiers based on how completely the heat pump replaces your existing heating source. Which tier you land in determines not just the rebate amount, but whether you can access the additional bonuses described below.
- Whole-home rebate: $2,650 per ton, up to $8,500, for systems installed as the sole source of heating and cooling. A three-ton system generates $7,950; a 3.2-ton system hits the $8,500 cap.
- Partial-home rebate: $1,125 per ton, up to $8,500, for systems that supplement an existing boiler or furnace rather than replace it. This tier is common in older North Shore homes where a homeowner wants to run a heat pump most of the year and keep the existing system as a backup.
- Basic rebate: $250 per ton, up to $2,500, for installations that don’t displace fossil fuel or electric resistance heat. This applies to additions, summer-only spaces, or situations where no primary heating system is being displaced.
Equipment must carry ENERGY STAR Cold Climate certification to qualify under any tier. This matters in Beverly because January average lows sit in the mid-20s, and a standard heat pump loses efficiency well before that. Cold-climate units are rated to maintain meaningful output down to 5°F and some below zero.
Bonuses, Financing, & Income-Based Support
The per-ton rebate is the floor, not the ceiling, for many homeowners. Two bonuses apply specifically to partial-home installations: a $500 sizing bonus and a $500 weatherization bonus, which can push the total available incentive to $9,500 when combined with the base rebate.
Homeowners below income thresholds set by Area Median Income (AMI) guidelines can access Enhanced Incentives that go significantly higher. AMI-based thresholds vary by household size and county, and figures quoted online range from $63,750 to over $110,000 for similar households because some sources use state median income rather than the county-specific AMI. For Beverly, which sits in Essex County, we’d recommend verifying your household number directly through Mass Save rather than relying on a generic figure. At the highest qualifying income levels, enhanced support can reach $16,000 in rebates, and Mass Save’s Turnkey Services program can cover the full project cost for qualifying households.
The Mass Save HEAT Loan offers 0% interest financing up to $25,000 and can be combined with any rebate tier. For a homeowner replacing an oil system, pairing a whole-home rebate with a HEAT Loan means the after-rebate balance is financed at no interest, often for up to seven years.
Why the Numbers Changed & What Still Trips People Up
The $10,000 figure that appeared in a lot of 2025 coverage was real for that program year. The 2026 program changed the structure entirely, moving from a flat cap to the per-ton model with an $8,500 ceiling. For a smaller home requiring a 2.5-ton system, the 2026 whole-home rebate comes to $6,625. For a larger home where the old $10,000 was already a ceiling, the new structure may pay less in absolute terms as well.
The federal tax credit issue is worth being direct about. Some sources circulating on the North Shore still describe the Section 25C credit as stackable with Mass Save rebates in 2026. That credit expired December 31, 2025, and building a project budget around it is a real risk.
One more area where homeowners get confused: the refrigerant transition. Mass Save’s Qualified Products List now requires next-generation refrigerants (primarily R-32 or R-454B) for a system to be rebate-eligible. This is a program rule enforced by Mass Save independently of the federal EPA refrigerant transition timeline. The EPA issued a final rule on May 21, 2026 that adjusted the original federal installation deadline for pre-2025 equipment, effective July 27, 2026, but that adjustment doesn’t change what Mass Save will and won’t rebate. If a contractor offers a unit running on R-410A, confirm rebate eligibility before installation begins.
Getting a Beverly Home Ready: Weatherization & Eligibility
Claiming the whole-home rebate requires meeting one of three weatherization conditions. This isn’t a general suggestion to improve insulation; the program looks for documentation of one specific path.
- Built in 2000 or later: Homes constructed in 2000 or after automatically satisfy the weatherization requirement.
- Low recommended weatherization: A Home Energy Assessment determined there is less than $1,000 in recommended weatherization work needed.
- Prior weatherization completed: A Home Energy Assessment performed in 2013 or later identified weatherization recommendations, and those recommendations have already been completed.
A Home Energy Assessment through Mass Save is free for most homeowners and is typically the fastest way to establish eligibility if your home doesn’t already satisfy one of the other two conditions. National Grid is Beverly’s electric program sponsor for Mass Save, so Beverly homeowners would schedule through that channel. Roughly a quarter of Beverly homes still heat with oil, and the whole-home and partial-home rebate tiers are built specifically to address that situation. Installation must occur between January 1 and December 31, 2026, with all rebate forms and supporting documentation received by February 28, 2027.
Timing Your Decision Before the Program Changes Again
Mass Save rebate structures have shifted every year for the past several years, and there’s no reason to expect 2027 will look the same as 2026. Scheduling a Home Energy Assessment now, before fall demand picks up, is the practical way to establish your eligibility, lock in 2026 figures, and move into installation before the program terms shift again.
If you’re heating with oil, propane, or electric baseboards in Beverly or anywhere on the North Shore, the current program is more layered than last year’s headlines suggested. It is also more accessible for many homes than the new numbers imply at first glance. Reach out to our team at Morris Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning or call us at (978) 961-0338 to go through which rebate tier and HEAT Loan combination fits your home before winter.