You may have seen the countdown clocks already. "0% VAT on solar ENDS SOON — book your survey today!" It's true that a deadline exists. It's also true that some of the people shouting about it would rather you didn't do the maths. So let's do the maths.
What the deadline actually is
Right now, professionally installed solar panels and home batteries in the UK carry 0% VAT. That relief is due to end on 31 March 2027, when the rate reverts to 5% — the reduced rate that applied before the zero rate came in.
Note the word reverts. VAT doesn't jump to 20%. It goes from nothing to 5%, which is still a quarter of the standard rate. That distinction gets quietly dropped from a lot of sales pitches.
The real numbers
A typical home solar installation costs somewhere in the region of £5,500–9,500 at today's zero rate, and a battery adds roughly £3,000–8,000 depending on size — every roof and every quote is different, so treat these as ballpark figures. Here's what the same work would cost with 5% added:
| Installation | Ballpark cost now (0% VAT) | Extra at 5% VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Solar only | £5,500–9,500 | ~£275–475 |
| Battery only | £3,000–8,000 | ~£150–400 |
| Solar + battery | £8,500–17,500 | ~£425–875 |
So on a middling £7,000 solar system, the deadline is worth roughly £350. On a full solar-plus-battery setup, perhaps £500–800. That's real money — if you were planning to install anyway, doing it before April 2027 is plainly sensible.
But it is not £2,000. It is not "prices doubling". And it is nowhere near enough to justify rushing a £10,000 decision you weren't ready to make.
What qualifies for the 0% rate
The relief applies to the supply and installation of energy-saving materials in homes — the whole job, parts and labour, done by an installer. A few points worth knowing:
- It must be installed for you. Buy panels or a battery yourself to fit DIY and you'll typically pay standard VAT on the kit. The zero rate travels with the installation, not the hardware.
- Batteries count on their own. A standalone battery, or one retrofitted to an existing solar array, qualifies — it doesn't need to arrive on the same van as the panels.
- The installer handles it. There's no form for you to fill in. The zero rate simply shows up (or rather, doesn't show up) on your quote. If a quote itemises VAT on a domestic solar install before April 2027, ask why.
The bit the salespeople won't say
Deadlines are a gift to pressure-sellers, and this one is being worked hard. The pattern to watch for: an inflated "before" price, a countdown, and a demand that you sign tonight to "lock in the VAT saving".
Here's the honest counterweight. The gap between a well-designed system from a good installer and a rushed one from a bad installer is routinely thousands of pounds — wrong array size, wrong battery, poor workmanship, a company that vanishes before the warranty matters. The VAT saving is a few hundred. If avoiding 5% VAT pushes you into the wrong installer, you've lost the trade several times over.
A reasonable rule: no legitimate quote expires the same evening it's given. Any installer using 31 March 2027 to stop you getting a second opinion has told you something useful about themselves.
Could the deadline move?
Possibly. Governments have extended and expanded these reliefs before, and 2027 is a while away in policy terms. We wouldn't bank on an extension — plan around the date as announced — but "the government might change it" is one more reason not to treat the deadline as a fire alarm.
Sensible timing, without the panic
If you're genuinely planning solar, the practical advice is to start the process months before the deadline, not weeks. Surveys, scaffolding, grid paperwork and installer lead times all take time, and it's a fair bet the industry gets busy in early 2027 — which usually means stretched diaries and less room to negotiate. Moving in 2026, calmly, is how you capture the saving on your terms.
The order of operations that actually protects you:
- Get your numbers straight first — what a system costs and returns where you live (our Hertfordshire cost guide covers this).
- Decide whether a battery earns its keep for your usage — our honest take here — since a battery's whole job is raising how much of your own solar you actually use rather than give away.
- Use an MCS-certified installer, compare quotes without a clock ticking, and let the VAT saving be the bonus, not the reason.
The bottom line
The 0% VAT deadline is real, the saving is worth having, and the panic is manufactured. Treat 31 March 2027 as a nudge to start a decision you were already leaning towards — never as a reason to skip the checking.
If you'd like the process without the sales pressure, that's rather the point of how we work: we match you with one vetted solar and battery installer — a single MCS-certified firm, not a call barrage — and you can get a quick estimate to see whether the numbers stack up for your home first.