For almost every Irish home with solar panels, the answer is no — you pay no tax on the money you get for exporting electricity to the grid. Revenue exempts the first €400 of microgeneration profit per person, per year, from Income Tax, USC and PRSI, and Budget 2027 increased that to €600. The relief runs to the end of 2028. Only the part of your export income above the limit in a calendar year is taxable, and on a typical home system you would have to be on one of the highest export rates before you ever crossed that line.
- First €400/year of solar export income is exempt from Income Tax, USC and PRSI.
- Budget 2027 raised it to €600, announced 6 October 2026. No commencement date published yet, so €400 is the figure for the 2026 tax year.
- Per person, not per house — if two people are named on the electricity bill, each gets the full allowance.
- Runs to 31 December 2028, extended by three years in Finance Act 2025 and unchanged by Budget 2027.
- Only the excess is taxable, at your marginal rate plus USC and PRSI.
- No need to declare export income that stays under the limit.
The Microgeneration Tax Exemption: €400, Rising to €600
When you fit solar panels and export your surplus to the grid, your supplier pays you for it under the Clean Export Guarantee. That payment is income, and in principle income is taxable. But under section 216D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, Revenue exempts a set amount of microgeneration profit each year.
The exemption is €400 per year for the 2026 tax year. It was €200 in 2022 and 2023, raised to €400 by Finance (No. 2) Act 2023, and extended out to the end of 2028 by Finance Act 2025. It covers Income Tax, the Universal Social Charge (USC) and PRSI, so the first €400 of export profit reaches you completely untouched.
On 6 October 2026 the Minister for Finance announced an increase of €200, taking the disregard from €400 to €600. The Budget's tax paper lists it among measures "for introduction in 2027" and costs it at €1 million a year, but neither the speech nor the paper gives a commencement date, so Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 will settle when €600 actually applies. Until then, treat €400 as the figure for 2026. Nothing in the Budget moved the end date of 31 December 2028. Full detail on our Budget 2027 energy measures page.
The exemption applies to profit from microgeneration. For an ordinary household that's effectively the same as the export credits you receive, because Revenue does not let you deduct the cost of buying or installing the panels (that's capital expenditure). In practice your export profit is just the total of the Clean Export Guarantee credits on your bills for the year.
Who Qualifies
The exemption is for individuals generating electricity at their own home. Revenue's conditions are specific:
- The electricity is generated from a renewable or alternative source — solar panels qualify.
- It's generated at your sole or main residence (including the grounds), for your own consumption, with the surplus exported.
- You must be named on the electricity bill for the property. You don't have to own the home — a rented main residence counts.
One detail that catches people out in a good way: where more than one person is named on the bill, each named person can claim the full allowance. Revenue's manual puts it plainly: "Where more than one individual is named on the electricity bill each individual can avail of the exemption i.e. the exemption is not split between them." A couple jointly named on the account has an €800 combined tax-free allowance at €400 each, and €1,200 once the €600 rate applies.
One important limit: the exemption is not available to companies or corporate entities. It's a personal exemption for individuals at their home. (You may see other sites say the €400 covers “farms and businesses” too — that conflates the income-tax exemption with the wider Microgeneration Support Scheme. Revenue's rule for this €400 tax break is individuals at their main residence.)
Worth separating from all of this: the SEAI grant that helped pay for the panels is not income and never lands on a return. That is a different question with a different answer, covered in are SEAI grants taxable in Ireland.
When You Actually Owe Tax
You only owe tax if your microgeneration profit for the year goes over €400 — and then only on the excess. The first €400 stays exempt; the part above it is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate (20% or 40%), plus USC and PRSI in the normal way.
Here's Revenue's own worked example:
Eleanor's solar panels earn her €500 in export credits over the year. The first €400 is exempt from Income Tax, USC and PRSI. The remaining €100 is taxable and must be declared on her income tax return. At the higher 40% rate that's roughly €40 of income tax on the excess, plus USC and PRSI — a few euro, not a bill that changes the maths on solar.
Will a Normal Home Ever Go Over €400?
For most households, no. A typical 4 kWp system exports in the region of 1,400 kWh a year. What that's worth depends entirely on your supplier's export rate:
| Export rate | Income on ~1,400 kWh/yr | Over the €400 limit? |
|---|---|---|
| 17.16c/kWh (Yuno Energy) | ~€240 | No |
| ~18.5c/kWh (Flogas / Bord Gáis) | ~€260 | No |
| 19.5c/kWh (Electric Ireland / SSE Airtricity, large suppliers) | ~€273 | No |
| 32c/kWh (SSE Airtricity Activ8 premium, Year 1 only) | ~€448 | Yes, by about €48 (under €600 once that applies) |
Rates as published on each supplier’s own page, checked 7 October 2026. Pinergy’s old 25c rate ended on 1 August 2026; it now pays 18.5c ex VAT.
Even on the best standard rate, a typical home system stays comfortably under €400, and the €600 limit puts the line further out of reach again. You'd generally only cross it with a larger array, an unusually high export fraction, or a premium first-year tariff, and even then it's only the slice above the limit that's taxed. The tax has never been the thing that makes or breaks the case for solar in Ireland.
How to Declare the Excess (If You Have Any)
If your export profit stays at or under €400, there's nothing to do — you don't need to declare exempt profit, and it doesn't force you to file a return if you wouldn't otherwise have to.
If you go over €400, the excess is declared as income for that year:
- PAYE taxpayers declare the excess on a Form 12 (via Revenue's myAccount).
- Self-assessed taxpayers include it on their Form 11.
The profit is assessed under Schedule D Case IV for an ordinary domestic generator. Keep your annual supplier statements showing the Clean Export Guarantee credits — that's your record of the income.
To get paid under the Clean Export Guarantee you need a grid-connected system registered with ESB Networks via the NC6 form — which a registered installer handles. Solar Quotes Ireland matches you with SEAI-registered, Safe Electric / RECI-certified installers in your county. Get quotes with no obligation.
Get a solar quote →Frequently Asked Questions
Not for most homes. The first €400 of profit per person per year from exporting solar electricity to the grid is exempt from Income Tax, USC and PRSI, rising to €600 after Budget 2027, and the relief runs to the end of 2028. Only profit above the limit in a calendar year is taxable, and a typical home system earns well under that.
€400 per year, per individual named on the electricity bill, under section 216D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. It was €200 in 2022 and 2023, rose to €400 from 2024, and Finance Act 2025 extended it to 31 December 2028. Budget 2027, on 6 October 2026, increased it to €600, with the commencement date to be confirmed in Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026, so €400 applies for the 2026 tax year. If two people are named on the bill, each gets the full allowance and it is not split between them.
Only the amount above €400 is taxable. The first €400 stays exempt; the excess is added to your income and taxed at your marginal rate (20% or 40%) plus USC and PRSI. For example, on €500 of export income, €400 is exempt and just €100 is taxable.
Not if your export profit stays at or under €400 — exempt profit doesn't need to be declared and doesn't oblige you to file a return. If you go over €400, declare the excess: PAYE taxpayers use a Form 12 via myAccount, and self-assessed taxpayers include it on their Form 11.
No. The €400 microgeneration exemption is a personal exemption for individuals generating electricity at their sole or main residence. Revenue's rule excludes companies and corporate entities. Some sources blur this with the wider Microgeneration Support Scheme — but the income-tax break itself is for individuals at home.
Published: 9 June 2026. Updated: 7 October 2026. Author: Neil Russell. Figures verified against Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 07-01-44 (“Exemption of Certain Profits of Microgeneration of Electricity”, last updated January 2026) and section 216D of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, on 9 June 2026 and re-verified 7 October 2026. The increase to €600 is per the Department of Finance's Budget 2027: Tax Policy Changes (chapter 5.3) and the Budget 2027 statement by the Minister for Finance, both 6 October 2026. Export rates and the 4 kWp export estimate per our Clean Export Guarantee rates guide. This page is general information, not tax advice — check your own position with Revenue or an accountant.