Photovoltaic Zero Tax

Two tax laws fundamentally simplified private photovoltaics from 1 January 2023. Section 3 No. 72 of the Income Tax Act exempts income from operating smaller PV systems from income tax. Section 12 para. 3 of the VAT Act sets the VAT rate for delivery and installation to 0% - the so-called zero rate. Together that means: no more tax hassle for most rooftop systems.

The income-tax exemption depends on capacity limits. For a single-family home, up to 30 kWp (gross capacity per the market master data register) is exempt. For multi-family and mixed-use buildings, 15 kWp per residential or commercial unit applies, capped at a maximum of 100 kWp per taxpayer across all systems. The calculator knows this tiering and tells you, for your building type, exactly whether you are under or over.

The zero VAT rate is even simpler: for delivery and installation on or at residential and public buildings, no VAT has been charged since 2023 at all. That covers the solar modules, the inverter, the battery storage and all essential components. Because the purchase price is already net, there is no input tax left to deduct - so the small business scheme is automatically the default for new systems.

The calculator also covers the legacy cases. Systems commissioned before 2023 do not benefit from the zero rate - 19% was paid there. The income-tax exemption, however, applies retroactively to older systems too, as long as the capacity limits are met and the tax assessment is still open or amendable. Anyone who opted for standard taxation back then is sitting out the five-year lock-in under Section 19 para. 2 of the VAT Act.

Alongside the tax check there is a profitability calculator. You enter purchase cost, annual yield, self-consumption ratio, electricity price, degradation and maintenance cost, and the tool projects savings and feed-in revenue over 20 years, including payback period and annual return. A small bar chart shows the progression of self-consumption, feed-in and cumulative benefit.

The feed-in tariff is based on Section 21 para. 1 EEG 2023: the calculator lists the current rates per half-year, split by partial and full feed-in and by capacity class. Rates drop by 1% every six months, so earlier installation locks in the higher rate for 20 years. For the standard calculation the tool uses the current rate for small systems with partial feed-in.

Every calculation path is backed by its legal section, plus the BMF letter of 17 July 2023 as a source and a before-and-after overview of what changed in 2023. You can copy the result. The calculator is an orientation, not tax advice - for your specific case the tax office or your tax advisor remains responsible.