Solar panel tax warning: 54,500 UK households face £100 fine
Solar panel households must file tax returns by Jan 31
January 17, 2026
The UK His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Department issued an urgent warning to UK households with solar panels, with more than 54,500 owners at risk of an automatic £100 fine if they miss the imminent self-assessment deadline.
The warning is followed by a growing trend of households earning income by selling surplus electricity back to the national grid via the government’s Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
It is reported that over 1.6 million homes in the UK have solar panels, which help them earn over £300 annually.
Experts warn that this income is taxable. When considered together with other sources of income, for example, freelance or side hustles, it is likely that the cumulative effect will be sufficient for the supplementary income to exceed the tax-free trading allowance of £1,000 set by HMRC.
About 605,966 individuals who own solar panels may have fallen into this category and failed to account for it.
Therefore, homeowners are urged to check their total income from April 2024 to April 2025, including SEG statements from their energy supplier.
Those who exceed the supplementary income limit of £1,000 must register and file a tax return online by midnight on January 31 to avoid the fine, which is applied automatically even if no tax is ultimately owed.
