Paying back the Winter Fuel Payment

If you have received the Winter Fuel Payment (in Scotland this is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment) HMRC may take it back depending on your personal income.

Watch a video overview about the Winter Fuel Payment and the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Winter Fuel Payment

Check if HMRC will take back your payment

If your total personal income for the tax year is:

• £35,000 or less — you’ll keep your payment
• more than £35,000 — HMRC will take back your payment

If you live in a household with someone else who has also received a payment, we’ll look at each person’s individual income separately. For example, if youFor example, if your earnincome is £36,000 and your partnerpartner’s earns £22,000,income is £22,000, we’ll take back your payment, but your partner will keep their payment.

Use this online tool to work out your total personal income and check if we’ll take back the payment, for the current tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026).

To use this tool, you’ll need the total amount of income you expect to receive in the tax year, before any deductions. You may know this as the gross amount.

You should include any personal income you receive from:

• State Pension
• company and personal pensions
• money you earn from employment
• interest from savings 
• dividends from company shares 
• income from a trust 
• any state benefits that are taxable

You’ll also need to include any net profits:

• if you’re self-employed
• from rental income if you rent out property

If you have income from a joint source, for example interest from a joint savings account, you should only include your share of the income.

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How HMRC will take back your payment if you’re not in Self Assessment

You’ll need to wait for us to take back the payment, you cannot pay it sooner.

We’ll take your payment for the 2025 to 2026 tax year by changing your PAYE taxyour tax code for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. This means you’ll paymeans you’ll pay more tax each month to pay back theback the full payment that you received in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

You’ll getIn April 2026, you’ll get a letter or a notificationor inan theemail HMRCnotification app to tell you that we’ve changedthat we’ve changed your PAYEtax code to take back your Winter Fuel Payment. This will show as an underpayment. Any tax code. code letter or notification before this will not include this change.

We’llOnce reviewwe’ve allconfirmed ofyour theincome taxfor youthe paid2025 againstto the2026 tax year, we’ll check whether you werestill dueneed to pay.repay this amount.

If wewe’re have been unable to collect the full amount due during the tax year, in your tax code, we’ll send you a tax calculation.

If you receive payments in the 2026 to 2027 and 2027 to 2028 tax years

Unless you opt out of receiving the payment, we’ll collect your payments for the 2 tax years by changing your PAYE tax code for the 2027 to 2028 tax year.

If you receive a payment for the tax year 2028 to 2029 or onwards

We’ll collect your payment by adjusting your PAYE tax code for the tax year in which you receive the payment.

How HMRC will take back your payment if you complete a Self Assessment tax return

You’ll pay the payment back through your usual Self Assessment tax return, you cannot pay it sooner.

You do not need to include the payment in your 2024 to 2025 tax return. This is because we’ll not take back any payment you received in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.

Your payment will need to be included on your tax return for each tax year from the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

If you file your tax return online, where possible we’llpossible we’ll automatically automatically include the amount of your payment. Itof your payment as a tax charge. It will show on your 2025 to 2026 return, as either a Winter Fuel Payment charge or Pension Age Winter Heating Payment charge. as the winter fuel payment charge.

You should check that your Wintercheck that your Payment is automatically shown onpayment is automatically shown on your online return and include it if not.

If you file a paper Self Assessment tax return, you’ll need to add the payment to your 2025 to 2026 tax return.

You’ll then pay the payment back through your Self Assessment tax bill in the tax year in which you receive the payment, unless you opt out of receiving the payment.