£100 Household Energy Payment: Who Gets It and When

The £100 Household Energy Payment was announced in the Budget on 28 October 2026. It goes to households in council tax bands A to D in England, paid by local councils through the council tax system from January 2027. HM Treasury expects up to 20 million households, around 80% of homes in England, to get it. The detailed rules, including the date that decides who qualifies and how councils pay people who do not pay by Direct Debit, have not been published yet. Everything below was read on GOV.UK on 28 October 2026.

What is the Household Energy Payment?

Who gets the £100?

The Budget gives one test: a household in a home in council tax band A, B, C or D in England. It names no income or benefit condition, and it is one payment per household, not per person. HM Treasury estimates the payment will reach 83% of the households it counts as fuel-stressed in England, and 88% of households in the three lowest income groups.

What the government has not said yet:

• the date it will use to decide who qualifies;
• whether homes exempt from council tax, such as all-student houses, are included;
• whether second homes and empty homes are left out;
• how councils will pay households whose bank details they do not hold, and whether anyone has to claim.

We will update this page when the rules are published.

How do I check my council tax band?

Your council tax bill shows the band. You can also look up any home in England or Wales by postcode on GOV.UK's Check your Council Tax band service; for Scotland it points to the Scottish Assessors. Bands in England are based on what a home was worth on 1 April 1991, not on today's price.

If you think your band is wrong, GOV.UK explains how to challenge it with the Valuation Office, with evidence such as up to five similar homes in a lower band. A band sets the bill you pay every year, so judge a challenge on that, not on a one-off £100.

When will it be paid, and do I need to apply?

The Budget says councils will deliver it from January 2027, and its summary says the money goes directly into bank accounts. The government has not published how councils will pay households whose bank details they do not hold, or any deadline. No application has opened, so there is nothing to do today. Treat any message asking you to apply or to give bank details as suspect, and check it against your council's own website.

What happened with the 2022 rebate?

The closest precedent is the £150 council tax rebate of 2022. These were the 2022 rules, not the 2027 ones:

• Who: the billing authority guidance paid the liable council tax payer, or an occupant of some exempt homes, for a band A to D home that was their sole or main residence on 1 April 2022. Some exempt homes counted, such as an all-student home that was not a house in multiple occupation for council tax; second homes and unoccupied homes did not. A band E home moved to band D by the disabled band reduction scheme counted.
• How: councils holding a live Direct Debit paid the £150 automatically. Everyone else was contacted and invited to claim, and councils could offer a credit to the council tax account instead.
• Higher bands: councils ran a £144 million discretionary fund, which could help, for example, households in bands E to H on income-related benefits.

I'm moving home. Which address gets the payment?

No rule for movers has been published. In 2022 the test was one date: the household liable for, and living in, a band A to D main home on 1 April 2022 was paid for that home. If the 2027 scheme uses a similar date, what counts is which home you are liable for and living in on that day.

Three steps help whatever the rule turns out to be:

1. Give your old council the date you move out, so that account closes on the right day.
2. Register with the new council from the day you become liable. Our council tax when you move guide covers the dates and the forms.
3. Pay the new account by Direct Debit if you can. In 2022 that was the route councils paid automatically.

What if my home is in band E or above?

The £100 is for bands A to D only. The Budget adds £100 million for councils in England to give "targeted support to households acutely impacted by rising energy bills, some of whom are in council tax bands above A-D". The Budget does not say how councils will use it. In 2022 each council set its own rules for its discretionary fund, so watch your council's website.

Is there help in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

Not yet. The Budget says the devolved governments receive their share of the £2.6 billion through the Barnett formula, which lets them provide similar support. Wales and Scotland have their own council tax bands, and Northern Ireland has domestic rates instead, so any scheme there will be designed by those governments. Nothing had been announced by 28 October 2026.

How does it fit with other help this winter?

The same Budget extended the zero rate of VAT on domestic electricity in Great Britain to 1 July 2027, which HM Treasury expects to take around £50 off Ofgem's April 2027 cap. The £150 Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Payment are separate schemes with their own rules. Our winter energy bill help lists each one with its dates, and our Budget 2026 guide covers every measure that touches household bills.

Where Taupia fits

Taupia does not pay the Household Energy Payment or apply for it on your behalf. Its address check shows the council tax band and the council's charge for that band this year for an exact address in England, Scotland and Wales (in Scotland it shows the council only). Taupia is free, and nothing changes without your approval.