Warm Home Discount 2026/27: Who Gets the £150 and How

Last updated: 18 October 2026. I checked every date and rule in this Warm Home Discount guide against GOV.UK on 18 October 2026.

By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance

Affiliate disclosure: This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

This is not financial advice. The Warm Home Discount is a government scheme, so your electricity supplier and GOV.UK decide whether you qualify. Check your own case with them.

Weighing up an energy switch this winter?

My Octopus Energy page has the current £50 referral credit and the steps to claim it.

See the Octopus referral offer

Energy billsWinter 2026 to 2027

£150 off your electricity bill, if you are on the right benefit

The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 taken off your electricity bill this winter. Your supplier applies it, so the money never lands in your bank account. In England and Wales it usually arrives automatically. You qualify if you or your partner got Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Pension Credit on 23 August 2026. In Scotland, however, some people have to apply to their supplier instead.

Section 01 · The short answer

Do you get the Warm Home Discount this winter?

There is a good chance it arrives without you doing anything. GOV.UK says around 6 million households are eligible this winter. The government finds most of them by matching benefit records against energy supplier records. Your supplier then takes £150 off your electricity bill.

Three things all had to be true on the qualifying date, which for winter 2026 to 2027 was 23 August 2026:

your electricity supplier is part of the scheme
you or your partner got a qualifying means-tested benefit
your name, or your partner's, was on the electricity bill

If all three applied, the discount comes off your electricity bill. It is a credit rather than cash, though, so look for it on your bill or your online account, not in your bank. If you have never looked closely at a bill, my guide to reading your energy bill explains each line on it.

Section 02 · England and Wales

Warm Home Discount eligibility in England and Wales

There is one route in England and Wales, which GOV.UK calls the core group. You or your partner needed one of these four benefits on 23 August 2026:

Universal Credit
Housing Benefit
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit, either the Guarantee Credit or the Savings Credit

That list goes further than it used to. Before last winter, people on a low income who were not on Pension Credit also had to live in a home that counted as expensive to heat. The government dropped that test for the 2025 to 2026 scheme, and from this winter it has merged the two old eligibility groups into one. So if you missed out two winters ago because of your home rather than your income, check again now. The full rules sit in the government's eligibility statement for 2026 to 2027.

Most people in the core group get the discount automatically. Sometimes the matching cannot confirm you, for example because it could not find your supplier. In that case the government sends a letter asking you to call the Warm Home Discount helpline. If you get one, ring the number on it, because nothing happens until you do.

Care homes and most caravans sit outside the scheme. A permanent care home resident has no account of their own with an electricity supplier, so they cannot receive the discount. Caravan addresses get no letter at all. If a caravan is your only home and you are named on the electricity bill, contact the helpline yourself with proof that it is your sole residence.

Section 03 · Scotland

Getting the Warm Home Discount in Scotland

Scotland pays the same £150 under its own rules, set by Scottish ministers. The qualifying date is the same 23 August 2026, and you still need to be named on the bill with a supplier in the scheme. The difference is that only some benefits bring the discount automatically.

According to GOV.UK's Scotland rules, you get it automatically if you or your partner:

get Pension Credit
get an extra amount of Universal Credit because you or your child has a disability or health condition
get a disability premium or a pensioner premium with income-related Employment and Support Allowance
get a disability premium or a pensioner premium and have a Support for Mortgage Interest loan

Families with a child under 5 who normally lives with them also qualify automatically. That applies if you are unemployed and on Universal Credit, get income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or have a Support for Mortgage Interest loan.

Everyone else on a low income applies directly to their electricity supplier, in what GOV.UK calls the broader group. Each supplier sets its own extra criteria and its own list of qualifying benefits. Therefore, if you live in Scotland and you are not on the automatic list, contact your supplier now. Otherwise you could wait all winter for a credit that will never arrive by itself.

Section 04 · Other cases

Prepayment meters, park homes and Northern Ireland

Prepayment and pay-as-you-go meters. You can still qualify. Your supplier will tell you how the discount reaches you, and GOV.UK gives a top-up voucher as one example.

Park homes. Many park home residents pay the site owner for electricity rather than a supplier, so the main scheme cannot reach them. Instead, there is a separate Park Homes Warm Home Discount, run by Charis Grants. Its funding runs out each year and applications open for a short period, so check the Charis page early in the winter.

Northern Ireland. The Warm Home Discount does not apply there. GOV.UK points people there to the Affordable Warmth Scheme from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. That is a grant for insulation and heating work for lower-income homeowners and private tenants, rather than money off a bill.

Section 05 · The limits

What the Warm Home Discount will not do

No cash payment. The £150 comes off your bill, and GOV.UK states that the money is not paid to you. So be wary of anyone who asks for your bank details to send you a Warm Home Discount.

Electricity, not gas. The discount goes on the electricity bill. If one supplier provides both your gas and your electricity, you may be able to have it on the gas bill instead, so ask them. With separate suppliers, it stays on electricity.

One credit for the winter. It is a single £150 for winter 2026 to 2027, not a monthly reduction.

Other winter payments. Getting the discount does not reduce your Cold Weather Payment or your Winter Fuel Payment.

The £150 comes off your electricity bill. It never arrives as cash.

Section 06 · Chasing it

I think I qualify, but nothing has arrived

Start with the calendar. The scheme reopens for this winter in October 2026, and GOV.UK has not yet published a cut-off date for this winter's discounts. Last winter it told people to contact their supplier if the discount had not arrived by 31 March 2026. A missing credit in October or November is therefore not a sign that anything has gone wrong.

After that, work through these in order:

Check your supplier is on GOV.UK's list for 2026 to 2027. It includes British Gas, EDF, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy, OVO, ScottishPower and Utility Warehouse. If yours is missing, the main scheme cannot pay it.
Check whose name is on the bill. The person on the benefit, or their partner, had to be named on the electricity account on 23 August 2026.
Look out for a letter. If the matching could not confirm you, the letter tells you to ring the Warm Home Discount helpline.
Ask your supplier. It applies the discount and can see whether one is due on your account.

If your supplier stopped trading, you may still be eligible. Ofgem appoints a new supplier for you, and that new supplier is the one to ask.

Last winter, people who had confirmation they were eligible could write to the Warm Home Discount Scheme at PO Box 970, Preston PR2 0FX, when their supplier could not help. GOV.UK keeps that route on its help page. Meanwhile, for free and independent help with a dispute, Citizens Advice explains how to complain to your supplier.

Section 07 · This winter's bill

How the Warm Home Discount stacks with the VAT cut and the price cap

Three separate changes are moving electricity bills this winter, and none of them cancels another.

The £150 Warm Home Discount. A one-off credit for eligible households, as above.

The VAT cut on electricity. From 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, household electricity in England, Scotland and Wales carries no VAT, down from 5%. The government puts the average saving at about £45 a year. It also applies to fixed tariffs and prepayment top-ups, and you do not need to do anything to get it. The cut does not cover gas. HM Revenue and Customs' fuel and power notice limits the zero rate to electricity, so household gas stays at 5%. In Northern Ireland, electricity stays at 5% too.

The price cap. Ofgem's cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 puts a typical household paying for gas and electricity by direct debit at £1,723 a year. Ofgem says that figure would have been around £45 higher without the VAT cut. The cap limits unit rates and standing charges rather than your total bill. My October 2026 price cap breakdown has the full figures.

Put together, an eligible household gets the £150 credit on top of an electricity bill that no longer carries VAT. If you do not qualify for the discount, you still get the VAT cut automatically.

Cutting the rest of the bill, and switching supplier

For the usage side of the bill, my winter energy saving tips cover heating and hot water. If you are thinking about a new tariff instead, my guide to the best energy switching bonus explains how to compare the offers. Before you switch, though, ask your current supplier how a move would affect a discount it has not applied yet. GOV.UK does not cover that case, and it is the supplier that applies the credit.

If you do decide to move, my comparisons put the main suppliers side by side: Octopus vs OVO, Octopus vs British Gas and Octopus vs E.ON Next. My Octopus Energy guides gather every Octopus page in one place, and my Ofgem price cap guide explains how the cap works and when it changes. If Octopus is the one you pick, the Octopus referral page has the £50 credit and the steps to claim it.

Finally, MoneyHelper's free benefits calculator checks whether you are missing a benefit you are entitled to. Claiming one of the four qualifying benefits is also how a household gets into the Warm Home Discount in future winters.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to apply for the Warm Home Discount?

Usually not in England and Wales. Most eligible households get it automatically from their supplier. If you receive a letter asking you to call the Warm Home Discount helpline, you do need to call. In Scotland you may need to apply to your supplier, unless you are on the automatic list.

When will I get the Warm Home Discount?

The scheme reopens in October 2026 and your supplier applies the £150 during the winter. GOV.UK has not published a cut-off date for this winter yet. Last winter it told people to contact their supplier if the discount had not arrived by 31 March 2026. I checked these dates on GOV.UK on 18 October 2026.

Can I get the Warm Home Discount on a prepayment meter?

Yes. You can still qualify on a prepayment or pay-as-you-go meter. Your supplier will tell you how it pays, for example with a voucher you use to top up.

I moved house after 23 August. Do I still qualify?

GOV.UK does not cover moving house directly. Eligibility depends on being named on the electricity bill with a scheme supplier on 23 August 2026. Ask the supplier you were with on that date, and call the helpline if you get a letter.

I live in Scotland. How do I get the Warm Home Discount?

You get it automatically if you are on Pension Credit or on one of the other benefits on GOV.UK's automatic list for Scotland. Otherwise, apply directly to your electricity supplier, which sets its own extra criteria.

Does the Warm Home Discount affect my Winter Fuel Payment?

No. GOV.UK says the discount does not affect your Winter Fuel Payment or your Cold Weather Payment.

Is the Warm Home Discount paid in cash?

No. It comes off your electricity bill, or occasionally your gas bill if one supplier provides both. The money is not paid to you.

More from CoolCuration

How to cut household bills: seven realistic ways to bring the monthly outgoings down.
Should you fix your energy tariff?: whether a fixed deal beats the price cap right now.
How an Octopus Energy switch works: each step of the switch, and how long it takes.
tado Smart Thermostat X: room-by-room heating control from your phone.
Snoop: an app that tracks your bills and flags when one goes up.

Scheme rules, dates, tariffs and offers change. Everything above reflects GOV.UK, HM Revenue and Customs and Ofgem as I read them on the date at the top of this article. This article is not financial advice, and your supplier decides how the discount reaches your account.

This article contains affiliate and referral links, which are paid links. If you click one and buy or sign up, I earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. Brands don't choose what I feature or what I say about them.

What's trending

Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum: How to Get Tickets

Which Supermarkets Does Sprive Support?

What Is Sprive, and How Does the App Work? (UK Guide 2026)

Monzo Perks and Max Price Increase 2026: Every New Price

Best Free Budgeting Apps UK 2026

Frieze London 2026: Tickets, Frieze Masters and What to See