Solana is reducing the amount of SOL that accounts need to hold for on-chain storage. Under SIMD-0437, the network's lamports_per_byte parameter is being reduced from 6,960 to a target of 696 through five separate activation steps. Once all five steps are active, the rent-exempt minimum for an account of the same size will be 90% lower than under the previous parameters.
The reduction does not remove rent exemption or change the refundable nature of the SOL held by an account. It lowers the minimum balance required to keep account data stored on-chain.
- Solana is reducing
lamports_per_bytefrom 6,960 to a target of 696 through five separate activation steps. - The full reduction is 90%, but it is being activated gradually rather than all at once.
- Lower rent parameters mean an account of the same size requires fewer lamports to remain rent-exempt.
- Existing accounts can continue to hold more SOL than the new minimum, creating excess lamports in some accounts.
- Supported accounts may be able to withdraw excess lamports without being closed.
- Closing an eligible account can still return its remaining lamports to a destination account.
- Current rent-exempt minimums should be obtained from current network data rather than assumed from a historical fixed amount.
What is the Solana rent reduction?
Solana accounts must maintain a minimum lamport balance based on the amount of data they store. Although this mechanism is commonly called "rent," the balance is not a recurring fee. It functions as a refundable storage deposit held by the account.
The amount required depends in part on a network parameter called lamports_per_byte.
SIMD-0437 reduces this parameter from:
6,960 lamports per byte → 696 lamports per byte
when the full rollout is complete.
Rather than making the entire reduction at once, Solana divides it into five independently activated steps:
| Step | Lamports per byte | Reduction from original |
|---|---|---|
| Original | 6,960 | — |
| Step 1 | 6,333 | 9% |
| Step 2 | 5,080 | 27% |
| Step 3 | 2,575 | 63% |
| Step 4 | 1,322 | 81% |
| Step 5 | 696 | 90% |
Each step has its own feature gate. This allows the network to observe the effects of lower storage costs before proceeding with later reductions.
Is Solana rent already 90% lower?
No. The 90% reduction is the final target of the phased rollout, not a change that became active everywhere at once.
The first reduction became active on Solana Mainnet on September 3, 2026, lowering lamports_per_byte from 6,960 to 6,333.
Additional steps are activated separately. Because each feature gate can proceed independently, the current network value may differ from both the original 6,960 value and the final 696 target.
For this reason, applications should use current network data when determining a rent-exempt minimum instead of assuming that the full 90% reduction is already active.
How is the rent-exempt minimum calculated?
An account's rent-exempt minimum depends on its data size and the network's current rent parameters.
Conceptually, the calculation used by the reduced-rent proposal is:
minimum balance = (128 + account data size) × lamports per byte
The additional 128 bytes represent account storage overhead.
As lamports_per_byte decreases, the minimum balance required for an account of the same size also decreases.
For example, consider an account with 165 bytes of data.
Under the previous 6,960-lamport parameter:
(128 + 165) × 6,960 = 2,039,280 lamports
That is approximately:
0.00203928 SOL
At the final target of 696 lamports per byte:
(128 + 165) × 696 = 203,928 lamports
That is approximately:
0.000203928 SOL
The final rent-exempt minimum in this example is therefore 90% lower than under the previous parameters.
These figures illustrate the effect of the parameter change. They should not be treated as a fixed current rent amount for every token account.
Why is Solana reducing rent?
The previous lamports_per_byte value had remained unchanged for years.
Because the requirement was denominated in lamports rather than directly tied to the real-world cost of validator storage, the economic cost of creating and maintaining large numbers of accounts could change significantly as the value of SOL changed.
Reducing the parameter lowers the amount of SOL that must be deposited when creating accounts such as token accounts, program-derived accounts, and other on-chain state.
The reduction is being introduced gradually so that its effects on network state growth can be observed before later steps are activated.
What happens to existing accounts?
Existing accounts are not automatically recreated or closed when the rent parameter decreases.
An account that was funded under an earlier, higher rent requirement may therefore continue holding more lamports than are required under the current rent parameters.
For example, suppose an account was originally funded with:
2,039,280 lamports
and a later network parameter means that the same account now requires a lower minimum balance.
The difference between the account's current lamport balance and its current rent-exempt minimum may represent excess lamports.
This is different from closing the account. The account can remain active while holding more SOL than it currently needs for rent exemption.
Can excess SOL be reclaimed without closing the account?
For supported Token Program accounts, yes.
The Solana Token Program provides a WithdrawExcessLamports instruction that can move lamports above the current rent-exempt minimum to a destination while leaving the source account open.
Conceptually:
excess lamports = current account lamports - current rent-exempt minimum
Only the amount above the required minimum is withdrawn.
For a token account, this means its token balance can remain unchanged and the token account can continue to exist after the excess lamports are withdrawn.
The Token-2022 program also supports an equivalent instruction.
Authorization is still required. For a token account, the appropriate account authority must authorize the withdrawal.
Is withdrawing excess lamports the same as closing an account?
No. They are different operations.
When excess lamports are withdrawn, the account remains on-chain and retains enough lamports to satisfy its current rent-exempt requirement.
When an eligible account is closed, its remaining lamports can be transferred to a destination and the account itself is removed.
For an empty token account that is no longer needed, closing the account may allow its remaining balance to be reclaimed.
For an account that still needs to remain active, withdrawing supported excess lamports can recover only the amount above its current required minimum.
Neither operation should be confused with burning tokens. Burning changes a token's supply or token balance; withdrawing lamports or closing an account concerns the SOL held by the account itself.
Why fixed rent estimates can become inaccurate
Historically, approximately 0.00203928 SOL was commonly associated with the rent-exempt minimum for a standard 165-byte SPL token account.
That number came from the previous rent parameters:
(128 + 165) × 6,960 = 2,039,280 lamports
Because Solana's rent parameters are now changing, that historical figure should no longer be treated as a universal current value.
The required minimum can also vary with account size. Token-2022 extensions, for example, can increase the amount of data allocated to an account and therefore affect its rent-exempt minimum.
Applications should determine the required minimum using current network data for the actual account size.
How should the current rent amount be determined?
The safest approach is to query the network rather than hard-code a rent amount.
Solana provides the getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption RPC method, which returns the minimum lamport balance required for a specified account data length under the network's current parameters.
This matters during the phased rollout because the correct minimum can change as additional rent-reduction feature gates become active.
The same principle applies when determining reclaimable SOL: inspect the account's actual current lamport balance and the applicable current rent requirement rather than assuming every account contains the same amount.
Does reduced rent change how account closure works?
The rent reduction does not fundamentally change the account-closure model.
An account must still satisfy the requirements of the program that owns it before it can be closed. For token accounts, factors can include:
- the token program;
- token balance;
- account state;
- account owner or close authority;
- Token-2022 extensions;
- other program-specific requirements.
If an account is eligible for closure, its remaining lamports can be transferred to the specified destination as part of the close operation.
The important change is that newly created accounts may require less SOL for storage, while some older accounts may temporarily contain more lamports than their current minimum requires.
What does reduced rent mean for wallet cleanup?
Reduced rent changes the amount of SOL associated with account storage, but it does not eliminate the reason to inspect unused accounts.
An empty token account can still remain on-chain after its token balance reaches zero. If it is eligible for closure and no longer needed, closing it can return its remaining lamports.
At the same time, reduced rent introduces another distinction: an account does not necessarily need to be empty or closed to contain excess lamports.
This means there are now two separate concepts to understand:
- Closing an eligible account — returns its remaining lamports and removes the account.
- Withdrawing supported excess lamports — returns only lamports above the current rent-exempt minimum while keeping the account open.
Which operation is available depends on the account type, its state, its authority configuration, and the program that owns it.
Frequently asked questions
Did Solana remove account rent?
No. Solana is reducing the parameter used to determine the minimum balance required for account storage. Accounts still need to satisfy the applicable rent-exempt minimum while they remain on-chain.
The balance is better understood as a refundable storage deposit rather than a recurring fee.
Is Solana rent now 90% cheaper?
Not yet across the full rollout. A 90% reduction is the final target after all five SIMD-0437 reduction steps are activated.
The rollout is phased, so applications should use the network's current rent parameters rather than assuming the final value is already active.
What happens to the extra SOL in an existing account?
If an existing account holds more lamports than its current rent-exempt minimum, the difference may be excess lamports.
For supported accounts, those excess lamports may be withdrawable without closing the account. If an account is eligible for closure and no longer needed, closing it can instead return its remaining lamports.
Does reduced rent affect token balances?
No. The rent reduction changes the SOL balance required to maintain account storage. It does not reduce the number of tokens stored in a token account.
Likewise, withdrawing supported excess lamports does not burn the tokens held by the token account.
Does every token account now contain excess SOL?
No. Whether an account contains excess lamports depends on its current lamport balance, data size, current network rent requirement, account type, and how the account was funded.
Each account should be inspected individually.
How can I find the current rent-exempt minimum?
The current minimum can be obtained from Solana using the getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption RPC method for the relevant account data size.
Using current network data avoids relying on historical rent constants that may no longer reflect the active network parameters.