Self-build VAT reclaim for solar panels what HMRC allows and how to claim

Which VAT route applies to your solar panels

The first question is not what you can reclaim but whether VAT is charged at all. The answer depends on how the panels reach the roof.

The full position on solar and VAT, including batteries and the rules for existing homes, is on the VAT on solar panels page. This page is about the self-builder’s own claim.

Who can use the DIY housebuilders scheme

The scheme is for people who build a home for themselves rather than for sale. GOV.UK sets out who qualifies:

• You need planning permission to construct a new dwelling to be used as a family home, for residential or holiday purposes, by you or your relatives. Buying a new shell from a developer and fitting it out also qualifies.
• A dwelling you or your relatives plan to sell, let or use for business does not qualify. That includes a dwelling you build because you need to live where you work.
• “Constructed” means built from scratch, with any existing building demolished to ground level, or keeping a single façade (a double façade on a corner site). Semi-detached builds and extensions that create an additional dwelling also qualify.
• Conversions follow separate guidance and a different claim form.

The official guidance is VAT refunds for new builds if you’re a DIY housebuilder on GOV.UK. It replaces the old VAT Notice 719, which HMRC has withdrawn, so guides that still cite Notice 719 are out of date.

What counts as a building material

The refund covers goods, not labour. To qualify, goods must be incorporated in the building or its site, must be incorporated during construction, and must be the kind of goods builders ordinarily incorporate in that type of building. GOV.UK gives examples on both sides of the line.

• Can be claimed: building materials generally, and built-in, wired-in or plumbed-in appliances such as boilers or appliances designed to heat space or water or to provide ventilation.
• Cannot be claimed: most electrical and gas appliances (washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, hobs and ovens), fitted furniture other than fitted kitchen furniture, carpets and underlay, garden sheds and greenhouses, plant, tools and equipment, consumables that do not end up in the building, and building land.
• Services: GOV.UK’s list of goods and services says that services can only be claimed for conversions, because any services to a new build property should be zero-rated.

Are solar panels claimable?

Neither GOV.UK’s guidance nor its list of goods and services you can claim for under the VAT DIY scheme mentions solar panels, photovoltaic panels or inverters. We checked both on 2 November 2026. That is neither a refusal nor a confirmation, and it means nobody can tell you from the published lists that a claim for solar will be accepted.

If you intend to buy panels yourself and include them in your claim:

• Put the question to HMRC in writing before you buy, describe the equipment and how it will be fixed to the building, and keep the reply with your claim papers.
• Make sure the invoice is addressed to you and shows the VAT treatment of each item. Panels supplied without installation are standard-rated, so the invoice will carry 20% VAT.
• Treat the VAT on those lines as unconfirmed in your budget until HMRC has answered.

For most self-builds there is a simpler answer. A VAT-registered installer supplying and fitting the system during construction makes a zero-rated supply, so no VAT is charged and there is nothing to reclaim. Check that the quote shows 0% VAT for solar supplied and installed during construction, and keep the MCS certificate with the handover documents.

Deadline, one claim and the paperwork

• Deadline. If the building was completed on or after 5 December 2023, you must claim no more than 6 months after completion. For buildings completed before that date the limit was 3 months. If you cannot meet the deadline, GOV.UK says to write to HMRC explaining the delay.
• One claim. The scheme allows a single claim. You can send extra information or invoices afterwards, quoting your claim reference number.
• Documents. GOV.UK lists the claim form (for postal claims) with a schedule of invoices, your calculations, evidence of completion, a copy of the planning permission and any earlier or amended permissions, the building plans, and VAT invoices showing the supplier’s details, date, a description of the goods, the VAT treatment of each item and your name and address where the invoice is over £250. Do not send originals, because they are not returned.
• Mixed invoices. Where a contractor sends one invoice for goods and labour together, you must show your claim is fair and reasonable and reduce it for ineligible goods and services.

The claim itself is made on the VAT431NB claim service on GOV.UK.

Worksheet: add up the VAT on what you bought

List each purchase you are thinking of including. On a standard-rated purchase, the VAT is one sixth of the price paid including VAT. Tick “include” only for goods you are confident are eligible; for solar equipment, wait for HMRC’s written answer. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere, and you can download the sheet as a spreadsheet file to keep with your records.

Mistakes that cost self-builders money

• Reclaiming VAT on labour. Contractors’ services to a new build are zero-rated. If a contractor charged 20% on work done during construction, query the invoice rather than putting it in a claim.
• Missing the clock. The 6 months run from completion of the building, and you get one claim, so gather the invoices first.
• Invoices in the wrong name. The claim relies on VAT invoices addressed to you, with the supplier’s details and the VAT treatment of each item.
• Planning to sell or let. The scheme is for a family home. A sale or let plan rules the claim out.
• Mixing up the two reliefs. The energy-saving materials relief (0% until 31 March 2027, then 5%) is for installations in existing homes. It is not a self-build refund route. See VAT on solar panels for how the two differ.

Other money questions for a self-build, from mortgage drawdowns to export payments, are covered in the finance guide and the new-build solar incentives guide. The compliance side is in Part L 2026.

This page summarises GOV.UK guidance and is not tax advice. Check the current guidance, or ask an accountant or HMRC, for your own circumstances. Last checked 2 November 2026.