Solar grants and funding in the UK: what's real in 2026

Quick answer

For most UK homeowners in 2026 there is no cash grant for solar — the real support is 0% VAT on the whole installed price until 31 March 2027 (worth roughly £300–£550 on a typical system) plus Smart Export Guarantee payments for every unit you export. Eligible lower-income households can access ECO4-type retrofit support, and businesses claim 100% first-year tax relief via the Annual Investment Allowance. Everything else you see advertised deserves scepticism.

How the real support works

The 0% VAT rate needs nothing from you — a VAT-registered installer simply doesn't charge it on a qualifying domestic installation of panels, batteries or both. It is a genuine, dated window: from 1 April 2027 the rate reverts to 5% (VAT Notice 708/6). The Smart Export Guarantee is the ongoing one: suppliers with 150,000+ customers must offer an export tariff, rates vary widely between them, and your MCS certificate is the entry ticket — an installation without one cannot register at all, which is one more reason the handover paperwork matters. You don't have to export to the supplier you import from; shop the rate, and re-shop it when it changes.

The pitfalls that cost people money

Three patterns to avoid. First, dead schemes: the feed-in tariff closed to new entrants in 2019, the Green Homes Grant died in 2021, and several regional schemes have closed or narrowed since — any site or salesperson citing them as live is either stale or selling. Second, "free solar panels" adverts: the rent-a-roof model died with the feed-in tariff, and today the phrase is almost always lead-generation bait; the narrow truth behind it is ECO4-type eligibility for lower-income, less-efficient homes, which is a specific means-tested route, not an open offer. Third, urgency theatre: the VAT deadline is real, but a "sign today for the discount" pitch attached to any scheme is a sales tactic, not a funding rule — a legitimate eligibility position doesn't expire at the end of the salesperson's visit.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Funding support is devolved, and it changes more often than England's — which is exactly why we don't publish a table of devolved schemes that could silently go stale. The honest guidance: check the live position directly with Home Energy Scotland, the Welsh Government's Nest programme, or NI Energy Advice before you plan around any scheme, and treat any installer citing a devolved grant as a selling point with the same scepticism you'd apply anywhere — ask for the scheme name, the current status and the eligibility criteria in writing. The 0% VAT relief applies across Great Britain; planning rules differ by nation (our FAQs cover the England-specific permitted development position and where it doesn't apply).

What you'll need if you do qualify for support

Every legitimate scheme runs on evidence, and gathering it early saves weeks: proof of ownership or a landlord's consent, your EPC (means-tested retrofit schemes usually target lower-rated homes), recent energy bills, and — for anything involving an installation — an MCS-certified installer, because non-MCS work is ineligible for the Smart Export Guarantee and most scheme rules besides. Nothing on this page requires you to move quickly; the only dated deadline worth planning around is the VAT window, and it's on the calendar, not a countdown.

For businesses

Commercial installations are funded differently: the capital cost qualifies for 100% first-year relief through the Annual Investment Allowance (solar is special-rate expenditure, so the AIA — not "full expensing" — is the correct 100% route; confirm treatment with your accountant), and the operational saving is driven by daytime self-consumption. The process side — G99 connection agreements, CDM duties, structural sign-off — is covered in our commercial installation process guide.