What the 28 October 2026 Budget means for solar, batteries and heat pumps

Did the Budget extend 0% VAT on solar panels, batteries and heat pumps?

No. The Red Book lists the return to the reduced rate on energy-saving materials as planned (paragraph 6.215), so the zero rate on installing solar panels, batteries and heat pumps in a home ends on 31 March 2027 and 5% applies from 1 April 2027. It was not made permanent either. Our VAT deadline guide covers the timing and the cost of missing it, and our main VAT guide covers what qualifies.

Two details are unresolved. Heat batteries are added to the 5% list from 1 April 2027, but the legislation has not been published and no Budget document defines a heat battery. And no Budget document says how the 5% rate treats a contract signed, or a deposit paid, before 1 April 2027 for work finished after it. HMRC's VAT Notice 708/6 was last updated on 31 January 2024 and does not cover it.

Is 0% VAT on electricity extended, and to what date?

Yes, by three months. The temporary zero rate on domestic electricity in Great Britain, which started on 1 October 2026, has been extended to the end of June 2027 from 31 March 2027. The Budget overview gives 30 June 2027 and the Red Book gives 1 July 2027, so we say the end of June 2027 until the legislation fixes the date. That legislation is due in early 2027, which means the extension is announced but not yet law.

HM Treasury expects the extension to take around £50 off the annual price cap in April 2027, depending on how much electricity a household uses. No Budget document says what applies to electricity VAT after June 2027. The detail is in our electricity VAT guide.

What did the Budget announce for energy bills?

Sources: HM Treasury, Budget 2026 document (Red Book), paragraphs 3.3 to 3.6, 3.9, 3.11, 4.21, 4.22, 4.25, 6.23, 6.24, 6.26, 6.27 and 6.31; Overview of tax legislation and rates, paragraph 2.20. Checked 28 October 2026.

The cap itself is tracked on our energy price cap page. The Budget documents give no effect on the cap for 1 January 2027, and Ofgem's own timetable has that announcement by 25 November 2026.

What is the £100 Household Energy Payment?

A one-off £100 for households in council tax bands A to D in England, from January 2027, for up to 20 million households at a cost of £2.6 billion. How it reaches you has not been published: the Red Book describes it as paid into bank accounts, through the council tax system and as a council tax rebate delivered by local authorities. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland receive funding through the Barnett formula to support similar help, and their schemes are not specified. The full picture, including what is unpublished, is in our Household Energy Payment guide.

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What happens to gas standing charges?

The government has asked Ofgem to abolish gas standing charges on domestic bills in Great Britain, with the fixed costs recovered through gas unit rates instead. The average gas standing charge is about £108 a year, and the aim is delivery by the end of 2027 or as soon as possible after. This is a request to a regulator rather than a dated change, so your bill today is unchanged. What it would mean for your bills, and for heat pump and solar owners, is in its own guide.

Is the Boiler Upgrade Scheme still funded?

Yes. The Budget document says the government will maintain the Boiler Upgrade Scheme at £400 million in 2027-28, rising broadly in line with inflation after that, and that it has launched the Warm Homes Loan Scheme. It also saves £1 billion of capital grant from the Warm Homes Plan without itemising which parts carry the saving, and says the majority of Warm Homes Plan funding for low-income households and social housing, delivered by mayors and councils, is protected.

Grant values in force since 21 July 2026, from the DESNZ grant notice updated 20 October 2026. The Budget text does not mention any change to grant values. GOV.UK says the extra £1,500 for oil and LPG homes applies until March 2027; the notice gives no end date and the Budget does not address it.

Our Boiler Upgrade Scheme guide has the full rules. The government-backed Warm Homes Loan Scheme is explained on our Warm Homes Loan page; Clearline offers no credit, and that page explains the scheme without arranging it.

What changes for EV drivers?

From 1 November 2026, legislation in Finance Bill 2026-27 will clarify that electricity supplied through publicly accessible and workplace charge points is standard-rated at 20% VAT. Electric vehicle excise duty (eVED), first announced at Budget 2025, starts on 1 April 2028 at 3p a mile for battery electric and hydrogen vehicles and 1.5p a mile for plug-in hybrids. The Budget also promises £100 million over two years to cut costs at local, lower-powered public chargers, coming into effect from spring 2027, and is silent on the chargepoint grant for renters and flat owners. See home versus public charging costs.

What did the Budget leave alone?

No Budget measure was found on these subjects in the Red Book, the Overview of tax legislation and rates or the Policy costings, searched on 28 October 2026. The sources are listed below.

One measure does touch oil-heated homes: tariffs on kerosene heating oil are suspended from 26 November 2026 to 31 December 2028 (Red Book paragraphs 3.17 and 6.29). Our heat pump cost guide has the numbers for a replacement.

What should you do before 31 March 2027?

What is still unpublished?

GOV.UK was still adding Budget documents when we checked on 28 October 2026, so each item is re-checked before this guide is relied on again.