Do I pay tax on solar export payments in Ireland?
Work out how much Irish solar export income to declare, including bill credits, allowable expenses and the €400 exemption for each qualifying individual.
Wealth / The Compound journalPhoto: Stephen Craven / Geograph via Wikimedia Commons, 20 April 2013, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Illustrative image.
If you are named on the electricity bill and sell surplus renewable power from your main home in Ireland, the first €400 of your qualifying annual profit is exempt from Income Tax, USC and PRSI. For example, a sole qualifying bill holder with €525 in export credits and no deductible costs declares €125. That €125 is income to report. Your actual tax depends on your circumstances.
Does my home qualify?
Revenue’s microgeneration manual covers individuals generating electricity for their own use at their sole or main residence in the State and selling the surplus. A tenant can qualify. A holiday home, a company or a business generating electricity for sale falls outside this domestic exemption. Check the address where the panels are installed and whose names appear on the supply bill.
The annual limit was €200 per person in 2022 and 2023. It is €400 in each tax year from 2024 through 31 December 2028 under the extension enacted in Finance Act 2025. The electricity supplier’s export rate determines how quickly your credits add up. It does not set the exemption.
How to calculate your annual export profit
- Collect statements for the calendar year. Include export payments received and credits applied to your electricity account, even if the supplier paid nothing into your bank account. For an ordinary domestic generator, Revenue generally counts the income when received. Check the date on the credit if a statement covers two years.
- Separate exports from electricity used at home. Start with the supplier’s export-credit lines. Solar power used to run your washing machine saves you buying electricity, but produces no payment to include. If you switched supplier, include both sets of statements and avoid counting a balance carried forward twice.
- Check expenses before deducting anything. Revenue allows incidental running expenses incurred wholly and exclusively in earning the export profit. Keep the receipt and the reason the expense qualifies. The panels and installation are capital spending. Their purchase price and capital allowances cannot be deducted against this ordinary domestic income. A general household electricity bill is not an export expense.
- Apply the annual limit to each qualifying person’s profit. Subtract the available exemption from that person’s share. Keep the calculation and the statements together so you can reproduce the figure on your return.
One name or two on the bill?
Suppose a household exports 3,500 kWh and receives 20 cent per kWh throughout the year. That makes €700 of export credits. The tariff is illustrative. Assume no deductible expenses.
| Who earns the profit? | Calculation | Amount to declare |
|---|---|---|
| One qualifying person | €700 less €400 | €300 |
| Two qualifying people named on the bill, each earning half | €350 each, within each person’s €400 limit | €0 each |
Revenue allows each qualifying individual named on the bill their own exemption. Marriage or sharing the address alone does not establish entitlement. Use the share of profit that actually arises to each person. The equal split above is an assumption for the example. If the account names or entitlements changed during the year, keep the dated bills and ask Revenue through MyEnquiries how the rule applies to your facts.
Where does the taxable amount go?
If your qualifying profit is within the limit, you can leave that profit off your return. Receiving only exempt export profit does not, by itself, create a filing obligation. If you exceed the limit, include only the excess in your income return for that tax year.
For a PAYE worker eligible to use the PAYE Income Tax Return, sign in to myAccount, open PAYE Services, choose Review your tax for the previous 4 years, and select the year in which the credits were received. Follow Revenue’s filing steps to declare the additional income. If you already file under self-assessment, use your Form 11. Other non-PAYE income and your filing status also affect which return you need. Check Revenue’s return criteria.
When comparing supplier offers, use your annual imported and exported units in the solar tariff comparator. For a new installation, the solar payback calculator separates export income from savings on power you use yourself. For larger projects, see how domestic surplus export differs from an export-only scheme.
Archive photograph of a UK domestic installation by Stephen Craven via Geograph and Wikimedia Commons, 20 April 2013. CC BY-SA 2.0. Social previews crop the original.
