Irish government announces removal of VAT on solar panel supply and installation

Recently, it was reported that the Irish government has announced that it will cancel the VAT rate on the supply and installation of solar panels from May 1.

Irish Environment Minister Eamonn Ryan has announced that VAT on the supply and installation of solar panels for homes and public buildings will be abolished. The 23% VAT rate will be reduced to 0%, which is expected to save households an additional €1,000 and shorten the payback period by almost a year. It is reported that the current average expenditure of Irish consumers to install solar panels is around 9,000 euros.

The tax break will cost the government 19 million euros a year, according to estimates by the finance ministry. But Treasurer Michael McGrath said he believed removing VAT on solar panel installations would encourage more households and businesses to take up the product.