Photovoltaic self-consumption: accounting and tax 2026

Photovoltaic self-consumption accounting follows the tangible-asset regime: the panels and their installation are capitalised and depreciated over their useful life. When the surplus is sold, the revenue received through the feed-in scheme (obligation d'achat) is turnover to be recorded, with VAT deductible according to the allocation to the taxed activity.

Many directors reason like a homeowner fitting panels on their house. Once the installation is owned by a company (SAS, SARL, SCI subject to corporate tax, EURL), you move into a business logic: capitalised asset, depreciation, VAT, tracking of any surplus revenue, and care around the IFER threshold. Here is what we actually look at in these files.

Before recording anything, you must settle the technical configuration of the grid connection, because it changes the treatment.

• Full self-consumption: all the electricity produced is consumed on site. There is no sale, hence no turnover linked to energy. The installation remains a capitalised asset, and its economic benefit shows up as a lower electricity charge.
• Self-consumption with sale of the surplus: the company consumes part of its output and sells the excess. This sale takes place under the feed-in scheme (obligation d'achat), operated by EDF Obligation d'Achat, at a regulated tariff set in the contract. The surplus delivered, valued at that tariff, generates income to be recorded.

When there is a sale of the surplus, the feed-in contract sets a regulated tariff. Turnover corresponds to the volume of surplus actually delivered to the grid, valued at that tariff. In practice, this revenue is generally modest compared with the main gain, which remains the saving on electricity.

Our reading: the item to watch is less the amount than the regularity of invoicing and the matching of income to the correct period. The feed-in contract runs over many years; you must track the meter readings, any indexation, and the consistency between declared output and recorded income.

For self-consumption with sale of the surplus, an investment grant may be paid. Its amount depends on the installed capacity and is revised periodically by tariff order: we never estimate it in advance and we verify it at the time of grid connection.

The point of vigilance is accounting: this grant is a subsidy that must be treated as such, and not left in a suspense account. The underestimated risk, in the files we take over, is a grant received but never properly matched, which distorts the result of the relevant period.

For a taxable business, the VAT on the purchase and installation of the panels is deductible under standard rules, depending on the allocation to the taxed activity. The panels are a tangible asset depreciated over their useful life, in line with the French general chart of accounts.

Take care not to transpose the regime for private individuals, for whom VAT is not deductible: the treatment differs entirely depending on whether the installation is owned by an individual or by a company.

In practice, we separate the components (panels, inverter, fitting, connection) to set consistent depreciation periods, the inverter often having a shorter useful life than the modules.

The flat-rate tax on network companies (IFER) targets electricity-generating installations with a capacity of at least 100 kW (CGI art. 1519 F for photovoltaics). Most rooftop installations of small and medium-sized businesses stay below this threshold and are therefore not affected.

Above it, IFER becomes a recurring cost to budget each year. This is a point we check from the project study stage: a sizing that brushes against 100 kW deserves an informed trade-off between extra capacity and a lasting tax cost.

An SME installs a rooftop array in self-consumption with sale of the surplus, below the 100 kW threshold. In practice: the investment is capitalised and depreciated over its useful life, the VAT on the installation is deducted according to allocation, the surplus sold via the feed-in scheme generates modest turnover tracked each year, the investment grant is treated as a subsidy, and IFER is not due since capacity stays below 100 kW. The real gain shows up mainly in the lower energy bill.

• Identify the configuration: full self-consumption or with sale of the surplus.
• Obtain the feed-in (obligation d'achat) contract and the applicable regulated tariff.
• Verify the amount of the investment grant at the time of grid connection.
• Capitalise the installation and set depreciation periods by component.
• Confirm allocation to the taxed activity for VAT deduction.
• Check the installed capacity against the 100 kW IFER threshold.
• Track surplus revenue each year and its matching to the correct period.

Every project has its specifics (legal form, allocation of the premises, sizing, connection timetable). To secure the accounting and tax treatment of your installation, talk to our cabinet about the issues specific to renewable energy installations: we calibrate depreciation, VAT and feed-in contract tracking to your situation.