Winter fuel payments to be clawed back via tax system
A government U-turn on the winter fuel payment was announced this week, with a new means-tested threshold. How will this work in practice?
Recent weeks have been rife with speculation that the government would announce a climbdown for the current year, and this has now happened. Under the new system, all pensioners will initially receive the winter fuel payment. For those with incomes above the new threshold of £35,000, this will then be clawed back via PAYE or self-assessment (as applicable). The government has confirmed that this threshold will apply to each individual, not to each household.
The threshold includes all sources of taxable income, so pensions (including the state pension) will be included, but qualifying ISA interest won’t be. It will be possible to opt out of receiving the payment, e.g. where you know your income will exceed the threshold. Crucially, the government has confirmed that nobody will need to register with HMRC as a result of the changes.
Related Topics
-
Should you voluntarily payroll benefits in kind?
The window to sign up to voluntarily payroll non-mandatory benefits in kind for 2027/28 will open in November. Is it worth volunteering to pay HMRC earlier than required or should you wait until it becomes mandatory in 2028/29?
-
Wise tax statement errors could affect 4,000 customers
Around 4,000 UK customers of financial services provider Wise have been told that tax statements issued between 2021 and 2025 contained incorrect figures. The errors could have resulted in taxpayers paying too much or too little income tax and capital gains tax (CGT). What should affected customers check?
-
CT61