Winter Fuel Payment 2026/27: How to Apply

If you were born on or before 27 June 1960, first check the residence and automatic payment requirements. Separate claims will be available from 21 September 2026. Check the claim process on GOV.UK. (Verification: Claims for winter 2026/27 will be available from 21 September 2026, and the claim form will be published later. · Source gov.uk · checked 2026-04-01) The claim deadline is 31 March 2027.

The amounts are for winter 2026/27, and the claim opening date is based on guidance updated on 1 April 2026.

What should you prepare before applying on 21 September?

First check whether you qualify for automatic payment, then prepare your claim information. Most eligible people will be paid without making a separate claim. The claim form page currently says the form will be published later. This does not mean you can submit a claim now.

1. Check your date of birth and residence. People born on 27 June 1960 are also included in the age requirement.
2. Check whether you will be paid automatically. Review the pensions and benefits you currently receive and your previous payment history.
3. Prepare your identity and account information. Have your name, address, date of birth, and National Insurance number ready. Also check the account details for receiving the payment.
4. Check the guidance for the relevant year from 21 September. Check the 2026/27 form on the GOV.UK claim form page. Follow the submission method and address shown on the published form.
5. Submit your claim before the deadline. Anyone making a separate claim must apply by 31 March 2027.

The DWP Winter Fuel Payment claim form states:

You can claim for winter 2026 to 2027 from 21 September 2026.

For telephone enquiries, contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre. The number is 0800 731 0160. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 08:00–18:00 UK local time. Once claims open, you can also check whether claims can be made by phone.

Identity information is specified in the current contact guidance for the centre. Preparing account details is a recommendation based on previous claim guidance. Check the required fields again after the new form is published. The sources are the DWP claim form guidance and the centre contact guidance.

Automatic payment and separate claim requirements

If you receive a specified pension or benefit, you usually do not need to make a separate claim. However, you must still meet the underlying eligibility requirements. Find your circumstances in the table below.

Benefits eligible for automatic payment are:

• State Pension, Pension Credit, Universal Credit
• Attendance Allowance, Personal Independence Payment
• Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Payments under the War Pensions Scheme
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit, Industrial Death Benefit

This is not a scheme available only to Pension Credit recipients. Eligibility was expanded again from 2025/26. Check the current rules in the GOV.UK claim guidance.

What are the date-of-birth and residence requirements?

The basic eligibility requirement applies to ordinarily resident people born on or before 27 June 1960. The relevant areas are England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The amount and household circumstances are assessed based on 21–27 September 2026. This period is called the qualifying week.

A long-term hospital stay must be distinguished from a short admission. The legislation specifies free inpatient treatment for more than 52 weeks immediately before the qualifying week. You must also be receiving that treatment throughout the qualifying week. Check the detailed conditions in the GOV.UK eligibility guidance.

Can care home residents receive it?

Living in a care home alone does not exclude you from payment. You are excluded when long-term residence is combined with receipt of certain benefits. GOV.UK specifies continuous residence since 29 June 2026 or earlier.

This is combined with conditions relating to receipt of Pension Credit and other benefits. These benefits also include Universal Credit and income-related ESA. Check both the admission date and benefit status during the qualifying week.

Where should residents of Scotland check?

Residents of Scotland should check Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. The responsible body is Social Security Scotland. The basic date-of-birth requirement is on or before 27 June 1960. Residence on 27 September 2026, the final day of the qualifying week, is also checked.

Do not apply the England and Wales payment table directly. Separate payment amounts and exception rules apply. You can check the mygov.scot eligibility guidance.

How much is the 2026/27 payment for each household?

The payment depends on your date of birth and the eligibility of anyone living with you. The amounts stated for 2026/27 range from £100 to £300. The amounts below are before income-based recovery. The table is in pounds sterling.

The specified benefits in the table are Pension Credit, Universal Credit, and income-related ESA. A separate payment structure applies if these benefits are received. Also check whether the benefit is claimed jointly.

Do not apply the joint claim amount separately to both members of a couple. Check the final amount in each person’s letter. The source is the GOV.UK payment amount guidance.

How is it recovered if personal income is more than £35,000?

In principle, the full amount is recovered if an individual’s total annual income is more than £35,000. Your spouse’s income is not added to your own. If your income is exactly £35,000, it does not meet the “more than” condition. This is also not a system under which only part of the payment is repaid in proportion to the excess income.

The 2026/27 tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Do not determine your position based only on monthly take-home pay. You need to check your total annual income before deducting the Personal Allowance. Follow the questions in HMRC’s checker for detailed income items.

This does not work by applying the ordinary income tax rate to the payment itself. A separate tax charge equal to the amount received arises. You do not need to register for Self Assessment solely because of this recovery. The source is HMRC PAYE14020.

There is an exception for people who received certain means-tested benefits during the qualifying week. These include Pension Credit and Universal Credit. Income Support, income-based JSA, and income-related ESA are also included. If this applies to you, check HMRC’s exemption conditions for recovery.

Can payments for two years be deducted at the same time?

HMRC can recover payments for two years during the same period. The current guidance includes an example of a tax code change in January 2027. This is a case where recovery of the 2026 payment begins while the 2025 payment is still being recovered. Check your own tax code notice for the actual deduction amount.

Therefore, do not apply previous monthly recovery examples without adjustment. The winter for which a payment was received and the tax year in which it is deducted may differ. Check the latest treatment in the GOV.UK income recovery guidance.

Calculation example: payments received and final amounts retained by two people

Calculate the couple’s payment amounts, then apply recovery separately to each person. The following example combines the official payment table with the individual recovery principle. It is not an actual payment decision for any individual.

Assume both people are in the payment bracket for people less than 80. Assume both are eligible for payment. They do not receive any specified benefit. The individual incomes used are £36,000 and £22,000 from the HMRC example.

A’s excess income does not cause B’s payment to be recovered. Treating the total deposit of £200 as the final support amount would produce an error. Show the amount after recovery separately in the household budget.

How do the payment period and claim deadline differ?

Payments will mainly be made in November–December 2026. Letters are expected to be sent in October–November 2026. Payment is normally made into the account used for your pension or other benefits. This schedule does not guarantee the payment date for people who claim late.

The claim deadline is 31 March of the year after the qualifying week. This is specified separately in the legislation for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland. Do not confuse it with the 2025/26 claim deadline. The sources are the England and Wales regulations and the Northern Ireland regulations.

If you receive neither a letter nor a payment, first check again whether you need to make a claim. If you qualify for automatic payment, ask the centre about the payment status. The enquiry date is stated in the GOV.UK payment schedule.

How do you opt out and restart payments?

You can opt out if you expect the payment to be recovered or do not want to receive it. Opting out does not affect your State Pension. Once you opt out, you will not receive payments in subsequent years either. To receive them again, you must separately request that payments restart.

Ask the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to restart payments. For 2026/27, the guidance says to contact the centre before 31 March 2027. Distinguish the claim deadline from the opt-out deadline. Follow the detailed process in the GOV.UK opt-out guidance.

How to keep claim and tax records separately

Separating eligibility, payment, and recovery records makes it easier to identify differences in amounts. The following is a record-keeping suggestion based on the official conditions. It does not create a separate submission obligation. You can use the same approach when helping a family member with a claim.

1. Keep eligibility records. Note your address and living arrangements during the qualifying week. If you lived in a care home, also record your admission date.
2. Collect claim and payment records. Keep a copy of the form you submitted and the payment letter. Compare the amount actually deposited with the amount in the letter.
3. Keep recovery records separately. Record each person’s annual income and any tax code changes. Also state the year of the support payment.

Report changes of address or account to the centre promptly. An overpayment caused by incorrect information may have to be repaid. Repayment of such an overpayment must be distinguished from the tax recovery for high-income recipients.

Common mistakes when claiming

Do not mix the age, household, and income requirements. In particular, automatic payment and whether you can ultimately retain the payment are separate determinations. Check the following before claiming.

• Do not exclude people born on 27 June. The official age requirement includes people born on that date.
• Do not calculate £300 for each member of a couple. Living arrangements and joint benefit claims affect the amount.
• Do not combine a couple’s income when assessing recovery. The £35,000 threshold applies individually.
• Do not overlook a previous opt-out. Even if your income has fallen, you may need to request that payments restart.
• Do not send the previous year’s claim form without checking. Check the 2026/27 form and submission instructions.
• Do not claim through a link in a text message that asks for account details. Open the official route directly through GOV.UK.

HMRC does not ask you by text or email to transfer recovery payments. It also does not request account information that way. Distinguish a tax code change notice from a request to transfer money. This is specified in the HMRC scam prevention guidance.

Can you also receive other heating-cost support?

Winter Fuel Payment does not affect other benefits. However, eligibility for other heating-cost schemes must be checked separately. Their application periods and payment methods also differ.

One application does not cover every scheme simply because they all provide heating-cost support. Check each scheme in the official guidance for your area. Relevant routes are linked from the GOV.UK scheme overview.