The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 but if you earn over £35,000 a year, then your payment will be clawed back by HMRC
HMRC has started writing to millions of pensioners who will need to pay back their Winter Fuel Payment.
The Winter Fuel Payment is worth up to £300 and is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to people over state pension age.
But if you earn over £35,000 a year, then your payment will be clawed back by HMRC. For most people, it will be repaid by your tax code being adjusted for 2026/27.
This means the repayments will be spread out throughout the 2026/27 tax year and collected through the PAYE system. If you file a self-assessment tax return, then it will be included on your 2025/26 tax return.
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Approximately two million state pensioners will have to return their Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2025/26.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “The majority of people who need to pay back a Winter Fuel Payment will do so automatically via their tax code. For those already registered for Self Assessment, it will be collected via their tax return.
“We’ve provided online guidance clearly explaining how recovery of payments works, and a calculator so people can see if they’ll need to pay back the payment.”
Winter Fuel Payments are being paid to people who were born before September 22, 1959. You should have received your payment automatically if you claimed one of the following benefits in the qualifying week September 15 to 21, 2025:
- State Pension
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Carer’s Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Income Support
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Awards from the War Pensions Scheme
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Industrial Death Benefit
If you do not claim any of these benefit, then you need to claim your Winter Fuel Payment if either of the following apply:
- You’ve not had the Winter Fuel Payment before
- You’ve deferred your State Pension since your last Winter Fuel Payment
The majority of people should have received their Winter Fuel Payment in November or December – but if you believe you are eligible and you have not been paid, you can make a claim to the Winter Fuel Payment Centre by March 31, 2026.
You can call the Winter Fuel Payment Centre on 0800 731 0160, or 18001 then 0800 731 0160 for Relay UK. You can also send a letter to: Winter Fuel Payment Centre, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LR.
You won’t be eligible if you were in hospital getting free treatment for the whole of the qualifying week, and the year before that, or if you were in prison during the qualifying week.
You also weren’t eligible if you lived in a care home for the whole time from June 23, 2025 or earlier and you claim certain benefits including Universal Credit and Pension Credit.
In Scotland, the Winter Fuel Payment has been replaced with a new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment and this is worth between £101.70 and £305.10.
