Every band, with its condition
| What you fit | Grant | Condition in the same breath |
|---|---|---|
| Air source heat pump (air-to-water) | £7,500 | Owner; replaces fossil fuel or electric heating; MCS certified installer applies |
| Ground or water source heat pump | £7,500 | As above, including shared ground loops; the voucher runs 6 months |
| Air or ground source, no mains gas, replacing oil or LPG | £9,000 | Applications properly made from 21 July 2026 to 31 March 2027; a capped meter counts as gas |
| Air-to-air heat pump | £2,500 | Only in homes, since 28 April 2026; heats air, not water |
| Biomass boiler | £5,000 | Rural location, off the gas grid, boiler with an emissions certificate; not self-builds |
| Hybrid heat pump with a boiler | Nothing | Hybrids are excluded |
The amounts are set in a DESNZ notice of grant categories and values, most recently updated on 20 October 2026. GOV.UK describes the higher rate as an additional £1,500 on top of the standard grant "until March 2027".
What is left to pay
The grant is fixed; the price of the installation is not. The official benchmark is the median installed price that MCS installers report for grant-funded jobs: £12,826 for an air source heat pump in July to September 2026 (DESNZ). That figure includes VAT and, according to DESNZ, should include the grant value, so the grant comes off it. At the median, that leaves about £5,326 for a home on the standard grant, or about £3,826 for a home on the £9,000 rate. Your own price depends on the survey, the size of the heat pump and the work inside the house.
The grant never comes to you as cash. It is a voucher in the installer's name, deducted from your price. The installer may not ask you for the grant amount unless the application is refused or the voucher revoked.
Limits on the grant
- One grant per property. A property already funded by government for a heat pump or biomass boiler cannot get it again.
- Capacity. Up to 45 kWth for a single heat pump system, 70 kWth where more than one heat pump serves the property, and 300 kWth for shared ground loops.
- England and Wales only. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.
- Not for boilers. Apart from rural off-grid biomass, the scheme pays for no boiler of any kind, despite its name.
How the amounts have changed, and may change
The standard heat pump grant has been £7,500 through 2026. Three changes this year affected what is paid. On 28 April 2026 air-to-air heat pumps in homes were added at £2,500. From 21 July 2026, homes with no mains gas replacing oil or LPG could get £9,000. And on 22 October 2026 heat batteries were added to the law behind the scheme, though without a published grant value. The changes in 2026 guide covers each.
The £9,000 rate has a stated end for applications, 31 March 2027. Amounts can be changed by a new notice, so check GOV.UK's "what you can get" page close to the time you apply.
The grant and VAT together
Two separate things reduce what a homeowner pays for a heat pump in 2026. The grant is a fixed deduction from the price. VAT is a tax on the price, and installing a heat pump in a home is zero-rated until 31 March 2027, then charged at 5% from 1 April 2027 (HMRC Notice 708/6). The two dates sit close together: the £9,000 rate's application window also closes on 31 March 2027. A quote accepted in spring 2027 may be affected by both, so ask the installer which VAT rate their invoice will carry and which grant band they are applying for.
Amounts elsewhere in the UK
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme covers England and Wales only. In Scotland, Home Energy Scotland lists a grant of up to £7,500 for heat pumps, an optional interest-free loan of up to £7,500 and £1,500 more for rural and island homes, under its own rules. In Northern Ireland the scheme is not open, and GOV.UK lists the Northern Ireland Boiler Replacement Scheme as closed.
Why the amounts are fixed
The grant does not scale with the size or price of the system: a small air source heat pump and a large one get the same £7,500, up to the capacity limit. That keeps the rule simple, but it means the grant covers a larger share of a modest installation than of a large one. The price of your installation, and so what is left after the grant, comes from your own survey and quotes.
What the grant is worth against a typical price
Set against the official median installed price for an air source heat pump in July to September 2026, £12,826 (DESNZ), the standard grant of £7,500 is a little over half the price, about 58%. For a home on the £9,000 rate it is about 70% of that median. These are averages across thousands of jobs, not your price: a larger home needing a bigger heat pump and more radiator work will pay more, and the grant will be a smaller share of the total. A survey and itemised quotes are the only way to know your own figure.
Which amount a home gets depends on what heats it now, and the dated condition for oil and LPG homes is explained on the oil and LPG rate page. The conditions every home must meet first are on who qualifies, and the grant checker runs your answers through both.