- Check if your payment will be reclaimed at GOV.UK - you don't
need to contact HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
- Scammers may try to trick customers into handing money over.
Pensioners are being warned to be on high alert for scams as the
recovery of Winter Fuel Payments begins this month.
Almost two million people are expected to repay their winter 2025
payment due to their annual income being more than £35,000 – for
most, an automatic process.
HMRC saw more than
25,000 Winter Fuel Payment scam referrals over the last 12 months
and is warning that scammers may now use the recovery process as
a hook to use texts, emails and phone calls to target this group.
For most, the payment will be recovered through a change to their
PAYE tax code from this month (April 2026) with no need to
contact HMRC. For
those in Self Assessment who file online, the payment should be
pre-populated in their 2025 to 2026 tax return, due by 31 January
2027. Customers should check and add it manually if it is not
shown. Paper filers will need to add it on their tax return, due
by 31 October 2026.
This applies across the UK – including in Scotland, where the
payment is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment and in
Northern Ireland, where payments were made by the Department for
Work and Pensions on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. In
all cases, recovery is handled by HMRC.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's
Chief Customer Officer, said:
Criminals are great pretenders and often use fake letters,
emails, calls and texts to impersonate HMRC and trick people into giving
them money.
I'd encourage anyone who's unsure to use our online tool at
GOV.UK to check whether and how their payment will be recovered –
there's no need to call us.
HMRC will never
contact people by text or email to ask them to repay their Winter
Fuel Payment, or to request bank details.
People can use
HMRC's online checking tool at GOV.UK to see whether
their payment will be reclaimed and how.
Further information
For a typical Winter Fuel Payment of £200, PAYE customers with
income more than £35,000 will pay approximately £17 per month
extra in tax during the 2026 to 2027 tax year to recover their
payment.
Further information on HMRC's recovery approach can be
found at www.gov.uk/guidance/paying-back-the-winter-fuel-payment.
To report a suspicious text claiming to be from HMRC, forward it to 60599. To
report a suspicious email, forward it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. To
report a scam phone call, visit GOV.UK. If you have had money
stolen, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action
Fraud. In Scotland, contact police on 101.
For more advice on staying safe online, visit www.gov.uk/stopthinkfraud.
For Self Assessment customers who need support, there is help
available online, including:
