Heating allowance from the Social Heating Fund
How much the Social Heating Fund may pay on your heating oil delivery, depending on the invoiced price, the litres already covered and your household.
Belgium’s Social Heating Fund pays, through the CPAS/OCMW of your municipality (the local public social welfare centre), an allowance of 14 to 20 cents per litre of heating fuel, depending on the price per litre invoiced including VAT: the dearer the invoice, the higher the help per litre. It covers at most 1,500 litres per household per calendar year, so no more than €300 a year at the highest rate. For heating oil or type C kerosene bought at the pump or in small quantities, the allowance is a flat €210 a year. At the maximum price of 31 October 2026, €1.578 a litre under 2,000 litres, a 1,000-litre delivery would bring €200, at 20 cents a litre. Since 1 September 2026, the low-income category covers gross taxable yearly income of up to €25,817.27, plus €4,777.36 per dependant. The application must be made within 60 days of delivery.
Possible allowance for this delivery
€200.00
20 cents a litre on 1,000 litres
| Fund’s yearly cap | 1,500 L |
| Gross taxable yearly income not to exceed (category 2) | €25,817.27 |
| Deadline to apply at the CPAS/OCMW | 60 days after delivery |
Indicative calculation: only the CPAS/OCMW decides, after reviewing your situation.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The scale per litre
| Invoiced price per litre, VAT included | Allowance per litre | On 1,000 litres | On 1,500 litres |
|---|---|---|---|
| under €1.350 | 14 c | €140 | €210 |
| €1.350 to under €1.375 | 15 c | €150 | €225 |
| €1.375 to under €1.400 | 16 c | €160 | €240 |
| €1.400 to under €1.425 | 17 c | €170 | €255 |
| €1.425 to under €1.450 | 18 c | €180 | €270 |
| €1.450 to under €1.475 | 19 c | €190 | €285 |
| €1.475 or more | 20 c | €200 | €300 |
The Fund publishes the scale on its page on the amount (Dutch version: hoeveel bedraagt de toelage); both pages are in French or Dutch only. Each price limit is excluded from the band it closes: an invoiced price exactly on a limit falls into the next, more generous band. The tool applies that scale exactly to the price you enter, starting from today’s maximum price if you change nothing.
What the tool does
You enter the price per litre on your invoice, the litres delivered, the litres already covered since 1 January and the number of dependants. The tool finds the band in the scale, keeps the litres that stay under the yearly cap of 1,500 litres and works out the possible allowance for that delivery. It also shows the income limit for your household and the deadline to apply. The result is indicative: only the CPAS/OCMW decides, after reviewing your situation.
Who is eligible
According to the Fund’s eligibility page, three categories of households qualify. The first is people entitled to the increased reimbursement of health insurance, known in Belgium as BIM (French) or VT (Dutch) status. The second is low-income households, under the limit below. The third is people in debt mediation or a collective debt settlement who cannot pay their heating bill.
| Dependants | Maximum gross taxable yearly income |
|---|---|
| 0 | €25,817.27 |
| 1 | €30,594.63 |
| 2 | €35,371.99 |
| 3 | €40,149.35 |
Applying at the CPAS/OCMW
You apply to the CPAS/OCMW of the municipality where you live, usually its energy unit, within 60 days of delivery; the delivery date is the one on the invoice. The Fund’s page on applying lists the documents: the form, a copy of the invoice or proof of purchase, a copy of your identity card and, if needed, proof of income. With collective heating, the owner’s or managing agent’s certificate states how many flats the invoice includes.
The 60-day deadline is where the allowance is most often lost: note it down on the day of delivery. To check at the same time that the invoiced price respects the day’s legal ceiling, compare it with the heating oil maximum price and read the guide to the maximum price. To see the allowance against a year’s spending, use the heating oil budget.
This site is neither the Social Heating Fund nor a CPAS/OCMW: it reproduces their published rules to help you prepare the application, and cannot submit it for you.