Individuals born before 22 September 1959 and living in England, Wales or Northern Ireland are likely to be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) of between £100 and £300 for this upcoming winter (2025-26). Payments will be made in November or December 2025. However, HMRC will claw back (or “recover”) the WFP if the individual’s income exceeds £35,000 in the year to 5 April 2026.

In most cases, the recovery of the 2025-26 WFP will be made automatically via PAYE in the 2026-27 tax year, with HMRC adjusting the recipient’s tax code to collect around £17 per month between April 2026 and March 2027 (based on a typical WFP of £200).

However, for individuals in self-assessment, recovery of the WFP will instead take place as part of the tax return. For 2025-26 tax returns, HMRC will automatically include the 2025-26 WFP, and the WFP recovery will be collected as part of the balancing payment on 31 January 2027.

Individuals can check whether, and how, HMRC will recover their WFP using a new online tool.

If you or a family member expects to receive a WFP and have it clawed back, you can, for ease, instead opt out of receiving the WFP in the first place, but please note that this needs to be done by 15 September 2025.

For more on the WFP, its recovery, and opting out, please see https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment.