Millions of Pensioners to Receive Winter Heating Boost Despite Tax Clawback for Higher Earners Millions of pensioners across the country will get extra money for winter heating costs later this year. However those with higher incomes may end up losing some or all of that benefit through the tax system.
Around nine million older people are expected to receive a payment worth £200 or £300 this winter. This comes after ministers reversed an earlier decision to drastically limit support to only the poorest households. The Department for Work and Pensions confirmed the change. The scheme was heavily curtailed for winter 2024 but has been partially widened again following a policy reversal. However it no longer applies universally to all pensioners regardless of income as it did previously.
Who will get the payment
The updated rules mean that only pensioners earning less than £35000 per year will receive the payment. This applies to about 60% of all retired people.
The money will arrive in bank accounts between November and December 2026.
- Most people who qualify will get £200 if they are younger than 80 years old
- £300 if they are 80 or older.
However the expansion comes with a significant catch for better-off households.
Taxman to claw back payments
People who earn more than £35000 will still get the winter fuel payment but they will have to pay it back through taxes.
HM Revenue & Customs has started writing to over one million pensioners to change their tax codes for 2026/27 so the money can be collected back slowly.
For most people this means
- around £17 will be taken out each month if they are under 80 years old
- around £25 each month if they are 80 or older
Anyone who fills in self-assessment tax returns will need to declare the payment and the online forms are expected to include it automatically.
Who will miss out completely
Despite wider eligibility several groups remain excluded from the scheme altogether.
According to the DWP pensioners will not qualify if they live outside England and Wales or were in hospital receiving free treatment for the entire qualifying week of 21 to 27 September 2026 and the previous year. They will also not qualify if they are subject to immigration conditions preventing access to public funds or were in prison during the same qualifying week.
Care home residents can still receive the payment unless they have been living there full-time since late June while receiving certain benefits such as universal credit or pension credit or employment and support allowance.
Partial U-turn leaves gaps
The revised system marks a compromise rather than a full restoration of the previous universal benefit.
While millions more pensioners will now receive help compared with the restricted 2024 scheme the introduction of an income threshold and the tax clawback for higher earners means the winter fuel payment is no longer a blanket entitlement for all pensioners.
