ᐅ Photovoltaics – Questions About Taxes and Commercial Classification

Hello everyone,

We are planning to install a photovoltaic system with a battery storage for our new single-family house. As far as I understand, I should register a small business beforehand so that I can declare value-added tax (VAT) or sales tax. Then, I would need to report the monthly earnings from the photovoltaic system to the tax authorities, but this way I can reclaim the VAT on the purchase costs and depreciate the entire system over 20 years.

We are getting the battery from Sonnen and will sign a contract with Sonnen. This means the surplus energy will be fed into Sonnen’s system and compensated. This should be relevant, but I mention it just for completeness.

Is this correct? Is there anything else I should consider when registering the business, besides being able to declare VAT?

Thanks

You don’t need to register a small business.
You can reclaim the value-added tax, but then you have to file a monthly VAT advance return and pay taxes on your own consumption.
Battery storage for solar... well, only if you have money to spare and believe the company will still be around in 20 years.

The battery with cloud service is nonsense. Invest the money in more modules and fill the roof. This will cost you less and increase your profit rather than reduce it.

You need to register your commercial activity with the tax office. To claim input tax deduction, you must opt out of the small business regulation. However, this has nothing to do with depreciation.

Google this exact phrase (with quotation marks) and read the page carefully: "25-30 pages of complicated contractual documents granting the provider numerous rights and powers."

Stupid question, but is a photovoltaic system still worth it? We have enough space and money...

Sure, of course (without storage, without any cloud nonsense), what are you waiting for?

What does that mean? Do I enter a command? A tip on how to inquire?