Token-2022 vs SPL Token Program: What Solana Users Need to Know

Published October 9, 2026 · by the SolReclaim team · 中文版

Token-2022 is Solana's newer token program, launched alongside the classic SPL Token program that most tokens still use. For everyday users the practical differences are small: token-2022 accounts work the same way, can carry optional extensions chosen by the token issuer, and — because extensions make the account larger — can lock a rent deposit bigger than the classic 0.00203928 SOL. Closing an empty token-2022 account returns that deposit to your wallet, exactly like closing a classic SPL account.

This guide explains what token-2022 changes for regular wallet users — not developers — and why it matters for the rent sitting inside your accounts.

Two token programs, one wallet

Every token balance in your Solana wallet lives in its own on-chain account, and every one of those accounts is owned by a token program. Since 2020 that has almost always been the classic SPL Token program, whose on-chain address is TokenkegQfeZyiNwAJbNbGKPFXCWuBvf9Ss623VQ5DA.

Token-2022 — address TokenzQdBNbLqP5VEhdkAS6EPFLC1PHnBqCXEpPxuEb — is the newer of the two. Both programs run side by side on the same network, and your wallet can hold accounts from each at once. For most holders this is invisible: wallets show “USDC” or “BONK” without telling you which program the account belongs to. Under the hood, though, the split matters for one concrete reason: rent.

What Token-2022 adds (extensions)

Token-2022 was built so token issuers can opt into extra behaviors called extensions. The ones you are most likely to encounter:

• Transfer fees — a fee is taken on every transfer, so you may receive slightly less than you sent when moving such a token.
• Transfer hooks — extra rules run on each transfer, which some issuers use for compliance or restrictions.
• Metadata pointers — the token points to where its name, symbol and image live.
• Non-transferable tokens — balances that cannot move between wallets at all.
• Interest-bearing balances — the recorded balance can grow on-chain over time.
• Permanent delegate — an address with permanent control over every balance of that token.

As a user you don't configure any of this — the issuer picks which extensions a token has, and they apply automatically wherever the token moves. If a token you hold behaves oddly at swap time (a fee you didn't expect, a transfer that won't complete), its extensions are usually why.

The rent difference that matters to you

Every token account must hold a rent-exempt deposit, paid out of your SOL when the account is created. A standard 165-byte SPL Token account needs 0.00203928 SOL; we break down the mechanics in our guide to Solana token account rent.

Token-2022 accounts can be larger. Each enabled extension adds storage to the account, and storage on Solana costs rent, so the rent-exempt minimum rises with it. An empty token-2022 account with several extensions can lock noticeably more than the classic 0.00203928 SOL — and if your wallet swept the account under the rug, you might never notice it sitting there.

The good news: whatever the deposit's size, it is refundable. An empty account is dormant storage holding your SOL, and it can be closed at any time.

Closing Token-2022 accounts

Closing a token account is a single instruction — CloseAccount — that deletes the account and returns its full rent deposit to the wallet that owned it. That mechanism is identical on both programs; token-2022 didn't change it.

What changed is the cleanup. A tool that only scans the classic SPL program will silently miss every token-2022 account in your wallet. SolReclaim scans both token programs in one pass, lists every zero-balance account with its locked rent, and closes your selection in a single batched transaction you sign with your own wallet — see the step-by-step guide to reclaiming SOL from empty token accounts for the full walkthrough. The 0.9% service fee is deducted only from the SOL you actually reclaim; if the scan finds nothing, you pay nothing.

Which tokens use Token-2022?

Adoption keeps growing: many newer tokens, NFTs and issuer-created mints exist only on token-2022, because anything launched recently that wants extensions has no choice but to use it. Most older major tokens remain on the classic program, and the two will keep coexisting — token-2022 is an addition, not a switchover.

One quirk worth knowing: some wallets don't display token-2022 accounts as prominently as classic ones, so empty or dust accounts on the new program can pile up unnoticed. To check any account yourself, open it in a Solana explorer and look at its owner program: TokenzQd… means token-2022, Tokenkeg… means classic SPL.

And if the dust isn't empty — spam NFTs or dead tokens with a non-zero balance — closing them means burning first, which is permanent. Our guide to removing spam NFTs and dust tokens covers how that works and what to double-check before you sign.

Frequently asked questions