The winter fuel payment, or the pension age winter heating payment in Scotland, for winter 2026/27 will be paid to eligible pensioners from November 2026.

Recovery through the tax system 

The payment will be recovered through the tax system where the person’s taxable income for 2026/27 exceeds £35,000. This is achieved by: 

• including the payment in their self assessment (SA) tax return (the end-of-year return for taxpayers within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax) for 2026/27; or
• by way of an adjustment to their pay as you earn (PAYE) code where they are not within SA/MTD income tax. The adjustment will be made automatically by HMRC – to the person’s 2027/28 tax code, or for some taxpayers, to their 2026/27 tax code (from January 2027 onwards) 

From April 2027, HMRC will start collecting winter payments through the PAYE tax code in advance during the year in which they’re paid. This may mean that someone who receives 2026/27 and 2027/28 winter payments will pay back both at the same time. 

HMRC’s online tool can be used to check if and how the payment will be recovered.   

Opting out of receiving the payment   

The taxpayer can opt out of receiving the payment. For taxpayers with income in excess of £35,000, this may be simpler than receiving the payment and having it recovered through the tax system.  

Pensioners wishing to opt out of receiving the payment for winter 2026/27 should do so by: 

• 6pm on 18 September 2026 for pensioners in England, Wales or Northern Ireland who wish to opt out by calling HMRC’s helpline on 0800 731 0160 (see HMRC’s guidance for alternative contact details and a summary of the information HMRC will ask for);
• 11:59pm on 20 September 2026 for pensioners in England, Wales or Northern Ireland who wish to opt out by using the manage your state pension service or by completing the opt out form; and
• midday on 19 October 2026 for pensioners in Scotland who wish to opt out by completing the online form. It is also possible to call Social Security Scotland to opt out (the guidance does not yet specify a deadline for this).   

Once the person has opted out for one year, they will not receive payments for future years unless they opt back in. This means that, if the person opted out of receiving the payment for winter 2025/26, they will not automatically receive the payment for winter 2026/27, and so do not need to opt out again.  

Opting back in 

A person who previously opted out and wishes to opt back in in order to receive the winter payment for 2026/27 must do so by 31 March 2027. The guidance on GOV.UK (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) and mygov.scot (Scotland) explains how to do this.