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?

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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.