Taxes on solar power?
Readers ask – editors follow up with the experts
Created: 09/10/2022, 22:35
By: Laura May
You could say: If you only use the PV system for yourself, you don't have to pay any taxes.
Manfred Grohotolski from Pullach © Oliver Berg
Why does self-generated solar power actually have to be taxed?
Many Merkur readers ask themselves this question and have contacted the editors.
District
– The Münchner Merkur asked experts and solar system owners in the district and compiled the results here.
Apple pie made from fruit in your own garden, a cool glass of water from your own well - some things are tax-free.
This does not always include self-generated solar power.
On the one hand, taxes on privately used solar energy depend on whether there is an intention to make a profit, i.e. whether an income tax is incurred.
On the other hand, PV system owners have to pay sales tax.
"There are two ways that you can choose for tax purposes," says Anna Neumeier, photovoltaics expert at the Ebersberg-Munich energy agency.
Depending on the model, PV system owners have to pay taxes either on the installed technology or on the electricity generated.
How not to pay taxes on your own electricity
The question: Is that fair and does it promote renewable energies?
"That's a reasonably good arrangement," says Josef Kastenmüller from Sauerlach.
He himself has opted for the small business regulation and therefore pays no taxes on his electricity.
Manfred Grohotolski from Pullach has also opted for the small business path.
It is particularly important to him that he is not energetically dependent on the energy giants.
"I don't feel like paying a cent to the corporations," says the solar system owner.
In his opinion, people who produce solar power for their own use should be completely exempt from tax.
"You could say: If you only use the PV system for yourself, you don't have to pay any taxes."
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A tax advisor can help in individual cases
Whether it is more worthwhile in individual cases to have the initial costs of the system reimbursed or to obtain tax-free solar power always depends on the individual case.
"I have a tax consultant for this," explains Wolfgang Pauer, also known as Hohenbrunn's solar rebel.
In consultation with his adviser, he has chosen not to be taxed as a small business owner.
He opted for standard taxation.
It's worth it for him because he feeds much more electricity into the grid than he uses himself.
And electricity that is not used by the user is taxed anyway.
For Pauer, solar taxation is “very simple calculations”.
Everything he gets from the state he has to pay back in the form of taxes anyway, but taxes that have been paid can be repaid in wage tax equalization.
Energetically self-sufficient house
However, it is anything but easy, especially for newcomers to solar energy, to familiarize themselves with the tax models and then decide on the right model.
Oliver Seth from Straßlach-Dingharting also opted for standard taxation for his system.
So he got back the input tax on his system and now pays taxes on his electricity.
His house is energetically self-sufficient, and he has been interested in energy issues since he was young.
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He generally likes to pay taxes to the state, but: "The value tax on self-consumption is a nuisance." This type of tax is inefficient and does not encourage more people to build their own solar systems.
"It doesn't pay off for the state - but it scares off solar system operators," says Seth.
Taxes and PV systems: Simplified rules
The problem is not that taxes on solar energy are unfair, but that few really understand them.
"It's totally complicated - but that's why the federal government has now simplified the rules somewhat." Income from solar systems up to 30 kWp should no longer have to be claimed for income and trade tax in future.
This is how private solar systems are taxed
Which taxes have to be paid in which amount for private solar systems and their electricity depends on various decisions and moves between two tax law complexes: sales tax law and income tax law.
You can decide for yourself which VAT regulations your self-used PV system is subject to:
Variant 1: Small business regulation
In the small business regulation, private households are classified as small businesses.
For the construction and installation of the system, VAT has to be paid as usual in the model, but as a result the electricity used for personal use is tax-free.
“The operator of a photovoltaic system can be treated as a so-called small business owner if sales in the year of establishment do not amount to more than €22,000 and are unlikely to exceed €50,000 in the following year.
No sales tax will then be levied on the sales," says the Bavarian State Office for Taxes, Paragraph 19 of the Sales Tax Act.
Variant 2: standard taxation
Plant operators can do without being classified as small business owners and instead be taxed regularly.
This has the advantage that the sales tax charged by the seller of the system, as well as tax amounts incurred for the ongoing maintenance of the system, are reimbursed by the tax office as input tax.
If the plant operator opts for standard taxation, he is treated like any other entrepreneur for tax purposes and has to pay 19 percent VAT on the electricity produced.
Free basic advice - but no tax advice
Which option makes sense must be checked on a case-by-case basis.
However, the Ebersberg Munich Energy Agency does not offer any tax advice.
Interested parties should contact the tax office or their tax advisor.
It is also possible to have the input tax on the system reimbursed for the first five years with the standard taxation and then switch to the small business regulation.
The Energy Agency offers basic advice on the subject, which is available free of charge on the website.
You can find more current news from the district of Munich at Merkur.de/Landkreis München.