New developments in sight, some welcome and some less so, for photovoltaic systems of private citizens connected to the public grid. It becomes easier and safer to manage the refunds and any taxes to be paid on the energy produced by our photovoltaic system and sold to the national electricity system. But in the meantime the mechanism of the exchange on the spot, which compensates the energy taken from the normal meter with that given to the public grid, is preparing to close its doors. In its place, the adhesion of new photovoltaic systems to the emerging Renewable Energy Communities (CER), which allow plant owners a significantly greater economic advantage.
In the meantime, those who cannot join the CERs, because they do not yet exist in their area or simply because they have an old system for which membership in the energy community is not permitted, will no longer be able to enjoy the on-site exchange. The exchange, managed virtually with a special meter that is added to and alongside the one that counts withdrawals, will be replaced by the less advantageous mechanism of the "dedicated retreat” of the energy exceeding that self-consumed. Let's see, in more detail, what changes on the two sides.
Calculating surpluses becomes automatic
From this year, precisely from the 2025 tax return now upon us, the tax authorities are giving us a hand. The calculation of the so-called surpluses in the reimbursements of the energy sold and remunerated to us, which we are obliged (even if some continue to ignore it) to include in the declaration as "other income", it becomes simpler. It will be directly the GSE – the Energy Systems Manager who is responsible for managing our green energy exchanges with the grid – to communicate to the Revenue Agency every year any sums on which we have to pay taxes. And the Agency will directly enter the figure in the pre-compiled declaration downloadable just before the start of the period that the declarations. It gives notice directly the GSE in its web portal.
Therefore, there is no risk of making mistakes in the calculations or forgetting to download the appropriate certification from our GSE account. Everything is automatic for those citizens who are careful to download the pre-filled declaration anyway, even if they cannot use it as is (because perhaps others have other incomes to add or other sums to deduct) but they dutifully use it as basis for the declaration “definitive”.
In any case – we remind you – the income related to photovoltaic surpluses falls into the category of “income deriving from commercial activities not habitually exercised”. Income that in the annual declaration must be reported, with code 1, in line D5 of the 730 form (section D “Other income”), or, for those who present the Personal Income form, in line RL14 (column 2).
For the "on-site exchange" an end announced
The timing for the definitive closure of the on-site exchange mechanism for those who are holders has not yet been decided. But in the meantime it has been decided stop new connections based on this solution. It is still possible to perfect an agreement of this type with the GSE only until May 25, 2025. But since to conclude the practice it is necessary to have a system installed, tested and functioning, we can safely say that the stop to new connections is practically executive.
Anyone who already owns a system with on-site exchange essentially has two possibilities. The first: if you have a very recently built plant, you can check whether there is a renewable energy community (CER) already established and functioning on your territory, a hypothesis that is not a given considering the obstacles and slowness in their diffusion, and if the intersection between the date of commissioning of its plant and that of the constitution of the CER allows the conferment. The simplest way to verify this is to contact the CER managers directly.
The second possibility essentially provides for a automatism, without the need - at least that's what is promised - of bureaucratic procedures or particular obligations. When the closing date of the exchange on site regime is defined also for existing plants, the contract-agreement with the GSE will be automatically transformed into dedicated withdrawal, after communication to the interested party, who will in any case have the possibility to choose other possible solutions.
