Rules · Memo
0% VAT on home battery installation until 31 March 2027
Updated
HMRC VAT Notice 708/6 zero-rates the installation of specified energy-saving materials in residential accommodation until 31 March 2027, and electrical storage batteries are within that relief from 1 February 2024, including standalone batteries and retrofits. From 1 April 2027 the notice says the rate is due to revert to 5%, not 20%, unless the law changes.
The claim, without the fog
The tax point can fall earlier if you pay a deposit or receive a VAT invoice, so ask how the job will be invoiced. This is a decision about paperwork, money or safety. Write down the usable kWh, the inverter size, and who services the pack before you compare two prices.
Take a 10 kWh pack, cycled about 260 times, at 90% round trip. Charge at 11.0p, and value what comes back at 26.0p. Export given up is priced at 4.0p. About 1486 kWh a year of the charge is treated as spare solar from 4 kWp that might otherwise have been exported. Delivered energy is about 2340 kWh. After charging cost and lost export, the figure saves about £438 a year. Set that against £6,880 fitted, which is a September 2026 illustration at the temporary 0% residential rate, not a quote. That is a simple payback of about 15.7 years on these assumptions. Nudge the night rate up by 4p and see if you still like it.
What the rules actually bite on
In most single-phase houses in Britain, 3.6 kW is in the band where G98 connect-and-notify is often enough. Export can still be capped. Agree that before the inverter is ordered. The figure uses 10 kWh and 4 kWp, which is enough to tell two quotes apart if they assumed something else.
Notice 708/6 is the document. The zero rate on qualifying home installations runs to 31 March 2027, then the notice points to 5%, not a bounce back to 20%, unless the law changes. A deposit can pull the tax point forward. On an illustrated £6,880 job, ask how the invoice will be dated.
What I would do next
I would not treat backup as included on a 10 kWh quote unless the circuits are listed. Photograph the board, the meter and the wall you have in mind.
Then get two written scopes. If they describe different machines, you do not have two quotes yet.
Before a deposit, I would want usable capacity, the warranty counterparty and a G98 note for this 3.6 kW inverter. The cupboard has to be a place you can stand in, at a temperature the datasheet allows. A five-minute video is not that.
Common questions
Is the price on this page a quote?
No. £6,880 is a September 2026 illustration for a 10 kWh example at the temporary 0% residential rate. Your survey replaces it.
Will it stay on in a power cut?
Only if a gateway or essential-load board was designed and paid for. A standard grid-tied battery turns off with the grid. On this 10 kWh example the inverter is 3.6 kW, and backup is still a separate line.
What paperwork should I keep?
Keep the MCS certificate where the job is certified, the electrical certificate, the DNO record, the schematic, the warranty registration and a photo of the schedule. For an illustrated £6,880 job, that folder is part of what you bought.
What if the cheap rate is not 7p?
Then the figure changes. This page used 11.0p as a charge rate and 26.0p as the rate avoided. A smaller gap means a worse payback. Read the live tariff.
Sources
Want a price for your house?
The figures above are a rough guide. An installer still needs to see your fuse board, where the battery will go, and whether you want power during a blackout.