LIHEAP in Massachusetts: Income Limits, Benefits, and How to Apply

LIHEAP in Massachusetts, known locally as the Home Energy Assistance Program or Fuel Assistance, pays part of your winter heating bill if your household earns up to 60% of the state median income. For the 2025–2026 season, that’s $51,777 for one person and $99,573 for a family of four.¹ The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities runs the program and pays your heating vendor directly, so you never handle the money. Qualifying also unlocks discounted utility rates, free heating-system repairs, and winter shutoff protections that many applicants never hear about.

Income Limits for the 2025–2026 Season

Your household’s total gross income for the 30 days before you apply decides whether you qualify. The ceilings for FY2026 are:¹

1 person: $51,777
2 people: $67,709
3 people: $83,641
4 people: $99,573
5 people: $115,504
6 people: $131,436

Larger households continue to scale up in smaller increments. These limits are higher than many working households assume, and plenty of people who have never applied actually qualify.

Both homeowners and renters are eligible. If your heat is included in your rent, you can still apply; you’ll need a signed statement from your landlord or a lease clause confirming the arrangement.²

What Counts as Income

Gross income means the amount before taxes and deductions, counted across every adult in the household: wages, Social Security, pensions, unemployment, and similar payments. Certain federal benefits, including Supplemental Security Income, are excluded by law.³

At least one person in the household must be a U.S. citizen or qualified immigrant. Qualified immigrants include lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees, among others. Household members who don’t meet the citizenship or qualified-immigrant requirement are not counted toward household size, but their income is still included in the eligibility calculation.

Federal rules direct states to give priority to households that spend the largest share of their income on heating, and Massachusetts gives particular attention to households with young children, elderly members, or people with documented disabilities.⁴ These households may receive larger benefits or faster processing.

Documents to Gather Before You Apply

Missing paperwork is the single most common reason an application stalls. Pull these together first:

Photo ID for the head of household.
Proof of each household member, including proof of citizenship or qualified immigration status. A Social Security card, birth certificate, unexpired U.S. passport, or permanent resident card will work.
Gross income documentation for the past 30 days for every adult. If you’re paid weekly, that’s four consecutive pay stubs; biweekly, two. Social Security recipients need a current award letter. Pension and unemployment recipients need statements showing gross amounts.
Proof of address, such as a current utility bill or signed lease.
If you rent with heat included, a signed landlord statement or lease clause confirming it.

How to Apply

Massachusetts offers three ways in. The online portal at toapply.org/MassHEAP is the fastest and walks you through document uploads and verifications.⁵ You can also apply in person at your local Community Action Agency or by mailing a paper application. The portal’s agency locator will show you which agency serves your address.

Once you submit, the agency reviews your income, household size, and energy costs to set your benefit amount. Expect the initial review to take six to eight weeks from the start of the heating season. If something is missing, you’ll get a notice by mail; once your file is complete, a determination letter follows with the exact dollar amount the state will pay your vendor. You can check status through your agency’s automated phone line.

How Much You’ll Get and How It’s Paid

Benefit amounts depend on your income, household size, and whether you heat with a deliverable fuel such as oil or propane or with a utility such as natural gas or electricity. Massachusetts has recently set maximum benefits at $1,400 for deliverable-fuel households and $925 for utility-heated households, though the figures can shift year to year with federal funding.⁶ Households with lower incomes relative to the poverty level receive larger benefits.

Payment goes straight to your heating vendor as a credit on your utility account or a payment to your fuel company. You never receive a check. The benefit covers actual usage or deliveries during the heating season only.²

Season Dates and Why Early Matters

The online application opens October 1 each year. Benefits are credited to vendor accounts from November 1 through April 30.² Applications are accepted throughout that window, but review takes weeks. Applying in October or early November means the credit is likely in place before the coldest months. Waiting until February can push the credit to March or April, if it lands before the season closes at all.

Emergency Help if You’re About to Run Out of Fuel

If you have a disconnect notice or you’re facing an imminent fuel shortage during the heating season, emergency assistance runs on a separate, faster track. Call your local Community Action Agency and say clearly that you’re out of fuel or days away. Federal rules require states to respond to life-threatening energy crises more quickly than routine requests, and agencies prioritize households completely out of fuel.⁷

Winter Shutoff Protections

From November 15 through March 15, your gas or electric company cannot shut off service that heats your home if you demonstrate financial hardship, provided service wasn’t already disconnected for nonpayment before November 15.⁸ Outside that window, shutoffs are blocked year-round if someone in the home is seriously ill, if an infant under 12 months lives there, or if all adults are 65 or older.⁹

If you received fuel assistance the previous winter, your utility must presume you meet the financial hardship standard and protect your account from November 15 through January 1, giving you time to reapply. If you haven’t applied or otherwise certified hardship by January 1, the utility can resume normal collection. During the protected period, shutoff threat notices can’t be mailed without authorization from the Department of Public Utilities.⁸

Discounted Utility Rates

Qualifying for fuel assistance automatically makes you eligible for a discounted rate from your gas and electric company. The discount ranges from 25% to 71% off the delivery portion of your bill, depending on the utility.¹⁰ Recipients of MassHealth, SNAP, TAFDC, and EAEDC also qualify through their own programs. You may need to send proof of benefits to your utility to activate the rate.

The discount runs year-round, not just during the heating season, so it keeps reducing your bill long after the winter credit stops.

Free Heating System Repair Through HEARTWAP

If your furnace or boiler is broken or unsafe, a separate program called HEARTWAP covers repairs and replacements at no cost. Eligibility mirrors fuel assistance: gross income within 60% of the state median income. The program is designed primarily for homeowners.¹¹

During the heating season, HEARTWAP works mainly as an emergency repair program. When funds remain after April 30, it also covers routine cleaning and tuning and replaces systems too far gone to repair. Asbestos removal is covered when it’s necessary to complete a repair safely. Applications run October 1 through April 30, matching the fuel assistance timeline.¹¹

If You’re Denied

Federal law requires every state running LIHEAP to offer a fair administrative hearing when a claim is denied or not acted on promptly.⁷ In Massachusetts, you can request a hearing through the Division of Hearings, present evidence, bring witnesses, and have an attorney or advocate represent you.

Before you request a formal hearing, call your Community Action Agency and ask what triggered the denial. Common causes are missing documents, income counted slightly over the limit, or an error in household size. A single missing pay stub is often all that stands between a denial and approval. Challenges are also worth filing if the agency counted income from a federal benefit that should have been excluded.

1
LIHEAP Clearinghouse. Fiscal Year 2026 HEAP Income Eligibility and Benefit Levels – Massachusetts
2
Mass.gov. Learn About Home Energy Assistance – HEAP
3
Administration for Children and Families. LIHEAP IM 2010-7 Exclusions from Income When Determining Eligibility
4
LIHEAP Clearinghouse. LIHEAP Income Eligibility for States and Territories
5
Mass.gov. Apply for Home Heating and Energy Assistance
6
Mass.gov. Governor Healey Increases Home Heating Assistance Benefits
7
Administration for Children and Families. LIHEAP Requirements
8
Legal Information Institute. 220 CMR 25.03 – Termination of Service to Customers During Financial Hardship
9
Mass.gov. When Am I Protected from Having My Utilities Shut Off
10
Mass.gov. Help Paying Your Utility Bill
11
Mass.gov. Heating System Repair and Replacement Program – HEARTWAP