The UK’s Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants on 1 April 2019, but if your system was registered before that date your payments continue for the rest of your contract term, up to 25 years from commissioning.1Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) You receive a generation tariff on everything your system produces and an export tariff on what you send back to the grid, both adjusted each April for inflation. Anyone installing solar or another eligible technology today applies instead under the Smart Export Guarantee.2Ofgem. Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
Where the Scheme Stands Now
The FiT launched in 2010 under powers in Section 41 of the Energy Act 2008.3legislation.gov.uk. Energy Act 2008, Section 41 No new installations have been accepted since 1 April 2019, so Ofgem now runs the scheme purely to administer contracts that were already on the Central FIT Register at closure.1Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT)
Contracts run for between 10 and 25 years depending on technology, capacity, and commissioning date.1Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) Most domestic solar PV installations sit on 20- or 25-year terms. The earliest of those begin expiring in the early 2030s.
How Your Payments Are Calculated
FiT participants have two revenue streams, calculated separately.
Generation Tariff
The generation tariff pays a fixed rate for every kilowatt-hour your system produces, whether you use that electricity yourself or export it. Your rate was locked in at the level set when your system was registered and rises each year with inflation. From FIT Year 17 onward the adjustment uses the Consumer Price Index rather than the older Retail Price Index. A CPI adjustment of 3.4% applies to all relevant tariffs from 1 April 2026.4Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Payments and Tariffs
Compounded over a 20- or 25-year term, that annual uplift adds up. A rate that started at, say, 12p/kWh in 2010 will be considerably higher in 2026. Ofgem publishes the updated tariff table each April so you can check your current figure.5Ofgem. Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Tariff Table 1 April 2026
Export Tariff
The export tariff pays for surplus electricity you send back to the National Grid. Most domestic installations don’t have a dedicated export meter, so the scheme uses a deemed export calculation: it assumes a fixed percentage of your total generation is exported (typically 50%) and pays you on that basis. If you have an actual export meter, payments follow measured export instead. The export rate is indexed to CPI in the same way as the generation tariff.4Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Payments and Tariffs
What You Need to Do to Keep Getting Paid
Ofgem maintains the Central FIT Register, and staying on it means meeting a few ongoing obligations to your FiT licensee (the energy supplier that handles your payments).1Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT)
Submit Meter Readings on Time
You need to submit generation meter readings on the schedule set out in your agreement. Quarterly is common. Anaerobic digestion generators specifically must submit quarterly readings within 28 days of each quarter ending. Missing a deadline doesn’t automatically end your contract, but your licensee can withhold payments until you send the readings in. If a meter can’t be read or verified, the licensee issues a warning and Ofgem may suspend payments while it investigates.6Ofgem. Guidance for Licensed Electricity Suppliers V17
Keep the System in Working Order
Your installation had to be certified under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme when it was registered. That accreditation is one-off rather than annual, but the equipment still needs to work and the meter still needs to be accessible for inspection. Letting the kit deteriorate to the point where generation data can’t be verified gives Ofgem grounds to question your registration.
Adding a Battery to an Existing System
Fitting a home battery alongside your solar panels doesn’t affect your generation tariff, because that payment is based on what your panels produce and the metered output at the generation meter doesn’t change. The export tariff is where batteries make a difference. If you’re on the deemed 50% export arrangement, a battery lets you store and use more of your own generation, so you’re actually exporting less than the deemed figure. That usually works in your favour financially: avoided grid electricity is typically worth more than the export rate.
Some FiT participants with batteries switch from the FiT export tariff to a Smart Export Guarantee tariff while keeping their FiT generation payments. Doing so requires a smart export meter so real exports can be measured. Ofgem confirms in its guidance on co-located storage that adding a battery doesn’t jeopardise your FiT accreditation.7Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Generators
Selling the Property or Switching Supplier
When You Sell the Home
FiT payments can transfer to the new owner when a property with an accredited installation is sold. For MCS-registered systems (which is most domestic solar), the new owner contacts the FiT licensee and the licensee updates the generator details on the Central FIT Register.7Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Generators
Larger installations registered under the Renewables Obligation Order (ROO-FIT) have an extra step: the new owner first updates the entry on the Renewable Electricity Register by emailing Ofgem’s renewable team and completing a transfer request form, then notifies the licensee to update the Central FIT Register.7Ofgem. Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Generators The buyer inherits the same tariff rate and the remaining contract duration in either case, which is worth flagging when marketing the property.
Switching Your FiT Licensee
You can move your FiT payments to a different licensed supplier, but there’s no financial gain in doing so: rates are set by the scheme, not by the supplier, and every licensee pays the same. People usually switch for convenience, so the same company handles their grid supply and their FiT. You can also change your household energy supplier without touching your FiT arrangement, because the two contracts are independent.
Tax on FiT Payments
For most domestic households the generation tariff is tax-free. HMRC treats it as a government incentive rather than payment for a supply, which puts it outside income tax and VAT for typical homeowners. The export tariff is different in principle, because you are selling electricity to a supplier, but the amounts involved for most householders are too small to trigger any liability. If you generate at business scale or you’re VAT-registered, export payments may count as business income and attract VAT.8GOV.UK. VAT Supply and Consideration – Feed-in Tariffs
If Something Goes Wrong With Your Payments
Complain to your FiT licensee first. If you can’t reach a resolution within eight weeks, domestic and micro-business generators can escalate to the Energy Ombudsman, and the licensee then has up to 28 days to act on the Ombudsman’s recommendations.9GOV.UK. Dispute Resolution Processes for Feed-in Tariff Complaints Raised by Generators
Disputes about the accuracy of your entry on the Central FIT Register take a different route. Ask your licensee to correct the data; if they refuse, you can ask Ofgem to review the proposed change, and the final escalation is the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.9GOV.UK. Dispute Resolution Processes for Feed-in Tariff Complaints Raised by Generators
If You Missed the 2019 Deadline
Nothing brings the FiT back for installations commissioned after 31 March 2019. The replacement is the Smart Export Guarantee, which opened on 1 January 2020. Under the SEG there is no generation tariff, only a payment for electricity actually exported. Suppliers with 150,000 or more domestic customers must offer at least one SEG tariff at a rate greater than zero, but beyond that the market sets the price.2Ofgem. Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
To take part you need a meter capable of half-hourly export measurement and a registered export MPAN. A smart meter installed by your supplier will usually meet the requirement. Your SEG licensee is not obliged to start payments until it can access readings from a qualifying export meter.10Ofgem. SEG – Guidance for Generators Rates vary widely between suppliers, so shopping around matters.
When Your FiT Contract Ends
The earliest contracts, registered in 2010 on 20-year terms, start expiring around 2030. When your term ends, both the generation and export tariffs stop. Your panels or turbine will most likely still be generating (solar panels typically last 25 to 30 years or more), so the electricity you use on-site keeps its value. To get paid for surplus after the FiT expires, you’ll need to sign up to a Smart Export Guarantee tariff, which means having a smart or half-hourly export meter in place.
Check your original commissioning paperwork or your Central FIT Register entry a few months before your end date so you know exactly when the tariff period runs out, and start comparing SEG deals in advance to avoid a gap in your export payments.