Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today confirmed on Channel Seven’s Sunrise that income from selling solar electricity back to the grid was currently assessable when determining the level of Centrelink benefits a person can claim. However Mr Rudd conceded some “fine tuning” may be possible to the current system that counts all forms of income when assessing social security benefits.

While money made from solar electricity is not “taxable income” according to an ATO ruling it counts towards the income of a person claiming benefits, like the pension, and may reduce the amount Centrelink pays if their income exceeds a certain amount. For example pensioners are able to earn up to $142/fortnight for a single person and $248/fortnight for a couple before their pension is reduced.

“While this is a disappointing stance from the Federal Government having solar electricity installed will not necessarily affect a pensioner’s benefits“said Adam Tesoriero, Director of SolarSwitch. If solar electricity is a pensioner’s only source of income they would need to install at least a 4kW system for a single person or at least a 6.5kW system for a couple before their pension might start to get effected.

SolarSwitch advises any of its customers receiving benefits to check with Centrelink as to how their benefits might be affected by the income they receive from the solar electricity feed-in-tariff. “Solar electricity is still a fantastic investment offering a more than 30%pa tax free return on investment while protecting families against rising energy costs and helping the environment” said Mr Tesoriero

For a Free Home Assessment contact SolarSwitch here or on (02) 8985 9945 or 1300 880 969