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The 0% VAT on solar panels and batteries
If you are thinking about adding a battery or more panels, the timing matters: installing them is zero-rated for VAT right now, and that is due to change in 2027.
The short answer. A zero rate of VAT applies to installing energy-saving materials, including solar panels and batteries, in residential accommodation across the UK, from 1 May 2023 to 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 it is due to revert to the reduced rate of 5 per cent.
What qualifies
The relief is on the installation of the materials in a home, not merely buying them, and it covers solar panels and batteries for storing electricity, among other energy-saving materials. It applies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Panels and batteries fitted together. Zero-rated since 1 May 2023.
A standalone battery. A battery installed on its own to store electricity from the grid has been zero-rated since 1 February 2024, which is the change that made retrofitting a battery to an older solar system cheaper.
Why the date matters
The zero rate is time-limited. Unless it is extended, installing the same battery or panels after 31 March 2027 will carry 5 per cent VAT rather than none. For anyone already planning the work, that is a reason to look at the timing rather than assume the relief will always be there.
How it fits with your Feed-in Tariff
This is about new installation work, so it matters if you are adding a battery or adding panels, not to the system already earning your tariff. One thing to keep separate: a battery does not affect your accreditation, but adding panels can be treated as an extension paid at today's much lower rate, so the VAT saving and the tariff effect pull in opposite directions and both belong in the decision.
We are not tax advisers and this is not tax advice. It is a description of a published relief, with the source linked so you can check the current position, which can change at a Budget. The installer handling the work applies the VAT treatment, and your own circumstances govern it.
Rate and dates from HMRC's VAT Notice 708/6, energy-saving materials and heating equipment, read on 26 September 2026. VAT rules change, so check the notice before you rely on a date here. Information only, and not tax advice.