Excess rent: get SOL back from accounts you keep (SIMD-0437)
Short answer: SIMD-0437 reduces the lamports-per-byte rent rate in steps. Accounts created at the old rate hold extra SOL above the new minimum. The WithdrawExcessLamports instruction moves that extra SOL to you while the account — and your tokens — stay put.
Steps
- Scan your wallet. SolRent compares each account’s balance with the current rent-exempt minimum.
- Select excess-rent items. They appear under “Excess rent” with the exact amount above the minimum.
- Approve the withdrawal. Your wallet signs a WithdrawExcessLamports instruction; the account stays open.
What changed
Solana’s proposal SIMD-0437 lowers the rent rate in several steps. In September 2026 the rate dropped from 6,960 to 5,080 lamports per byte, so a new 165-byte token account needs 1,488,440 lamports instead of 2,039,280. Further steps are planned.
Why that matters to you
Accounts created before the change still hold the old deposit. The difference is excess rent: SOL that is no longer required. As the rate keeps falling, excess grows — so the same account can be topped back down more than once.
How the withdrawal works
The token program’s WithdrawExcessLamports instruction lets the account owner move any lamports above the rent-exempt minimum to another address. Unlike closing, the account and its tokens remain. SolRent enables it for Token-2022 accounts now and for classic SPL accounts once each network step is confirmed by simulation.
Rent figures last verified 23 October 2026 against mainnet getMinimumBalanceForRentExemption.
How much is the excess per account?
The rent-exempt minimum is calculated from the account's size plus 128 bytes of overhead. A standard token account is 165 bytes, so it is charged for 293 bytes:
- Old rate: 293 × 6,960 = 2,039,280 lamports
- Rate since September 2026: 293 × 5,080 = 1,488,440 lamports
- Excess in a legacy account: 550,840 lamports, about 0.00055 SOL
That is small per account, but it adds up across a wallet that holds many tokens. 200 legacy accounts you still use hold about 0.11 SOL of excess, without selling or closing anything. If later SIMD-0437 steps lower the rate again, the excess grows.
Excess rent vs closing an account
- Closing returns the whole deposit, but only works on empty accounts, and the account is gone.
- Withdrawing excess returns only the part above the current minimum, but works on accounts that still hold tokens, and the account stays open.
An empty legacy account is always better closed. Excess rent matters for the accounts you want to keep.
Is it safe?
The withdrawal can only move lamports above the rent-exempt minimum, so the account can never fall below what it needs to stay on-chain, and your token balance is not touched. As with every SolRent action, the transaction is simulated before your wallet asks you to approve it.
Why isn't it available for every account yet?
Token-2022 accounts support the withdrawal today. For classic SPL Token accounts, SolRent waits until each step of the network change is confirmed by simulating the instruction against mainnet. Accounts that aren't eligible are simply left out of the plan.