Heating allowance: Deadlines, first payments and exceptions –

Table of Contents

• 1 Heating allowance: What you need to know
• 2 Exceptions
• 3 Electric current
• 4 How does the ⁤heating allowance impact overall energy consumption among‍ eligible recipients in Greece?

The electronic platform “myHeating” was opened yesterday (13/11), through which those interested can submit applications for the granting of the heating allowance.

The allowance this year amounts to 1,200 euros, increased by 20% compared to 1,000 euros last year, for those who choose to heat their home with electricity.

The deadline for submitting applications ends on December 6, 2024, while beneficiaries will receive the advance payment of the allowance by December 23, 2024.

The procedure for the payment of the heating allowance, totaling 270 million euros for over 1 million households, was determined after the publication of the MLA in the Official Gazette, which was signed by Kostis Hatzidakis, Thodoros Skylakakis, Christos Dimas, Thanos Petralia and Alexandra Sdoukou.

The decision includes the criteria, the amounts of the allowance, the key dates and the procedure for granting the allowance for the winter season 2024-2025.

Heating allowance: What you need to know

In order to receive the heating allowance, households should know the following:

1. Applications on the myHeating platform are submitted until December 6, 2024.

2. A heating allowance is granted to individuals who are single or married or widowed or to persons who have entered into a cohabitation agreement or who are separated or divorced, who use internal combustion heating oil or lighting oil (blue kerosene) or natural gas for their heating or LPG or firewood or biomass (pellets) or thermal energy through district heating or electricity and meet the criteria.. For married persons or persons who have entered into a cohabitation agreement, the beneficiary is the person liable to submit the income tax return or one of the two in case of submitting a separate return.

3. Their annual total family income, regardless of its source, real and assumed, amounts to up to 16,000 euros for unmarried and 24,000 euros for married which is increased by 5,000 euros for each child. For a single-parent family, the aforementioned income amounts to 29,000 euros, which is increased by 5,000 euros for each child after the first. For those engaged in business activity, the total gross income from business activity of the debtor, spouse or cohabiting partner and dependents, children, must not exceed 80,000 euros.

4. The total value of the real estate cannot exceed 200,000 euros for singles, widowed or estranged debtors and 260,000 euros for married or cohabiting parties and single-parent families. The amount is increased by 40,000 euros for each dependent child.

5. Those interested submit an application through the application of the digital portal myAADE of A.A.D.E., in order to join the Register of Beneficiaries of the heating allowance. In the application, the following information is indicated as the case may be:

• Tax Registry Number (T.F.M.) of the requesting person – subject to a tax return,
• Full name
• Number of dependent children
• Indication if it is an apartment building,
• Electricity supply number of the main residential property
• Postal address corresponding to the specific electricity supply, if the residence is privately owned, rented or granted free of charge, as well as the A.F.M. the lessor or the free grantor,
• Square meters of main areas of the main residence at the time of application,
• The type of heating fuel or thermal energy or electricity desired to be subsidized,
• His contact information (e-mail address, mobile or landline number).
• For electricity heating allowance applicants, the electricity supply number must match that of the main residence as declared to the tax authority by the end of the application period, otherwise the application will be rejected. For the control of electricity purchases of the subsidy period and the payment of the subsidy, a necessary condition is that the electricity supply number shown on the payment or settlement accounts of the subsidy period corresponds to the main residence supply number declared during the application.

IVAN

Before finalizing the application, the beneficiary must have an IVAN account number, in which he is the main beneficiary or co-beneficiary and to which he wishes to have the amount of the heating allowance credited.

For other fuels, apart from heating oil and electricity, the number of the proof of purchase of fuel items or consumption of thermal energy through district heating, the amount/value of the transaction, the Tax Registry Number and the name of the company – seller of the items must be additionally submitted heating fuel or thermal energy.

6. For the granting of the heating allowance, coefficients are used that express both the climate and the current weather conditions that prevail in the settlements of the Greek Territory, based on the calculation of the heating degree days, which are an indicator of the severity of the climate and weather conditions of a area and therefore the required energy consumption for heating. The base allowance amounts to 380 euros for electricity use, in 360 euros for the use of biomass (pellets), to 350 euros for the use of thermal energy through district heating or firewood, to 325 euros for the use of natural gas, and to 300 euros for the use of internal combustion oil or lighting oil (blue kerosene) or LPG. The basic allowance is increased by 20% for each dependent child of the beneficiary.

7. The total amount of the allowance cannot be less than 100 euros but neither can it exceed 800 euros. Due to the increased energy needs in settlements (Elati, Papigo, Kozani etc.) whose climate coefficient (SC) is greater than or equal to unit (1), the amount of the allowance is increased by 25% and reaches a maximum of 1,000 euros limit. Due to the even higher energy needs in settlements (Metsovo, Velouhi, Nymfaio, Nevrokopi, Pertouli, etc.) where the climate coefficient (SC) is greater than or equal to 1.2, the allowance is increased by an additional 25% and reaches 1,200 euros.

8. The allowance is granted for the consumption of thermal energy through district heating or electricity, for the properties, which they use as their main residence at the time of submitting the application, whether they are leased or freely granted or owned.

Especially for the granting of a heating allowance to firewood consumers, an additional condition is set that the property is located in a settlement with a population equal to or less than 10,000 inhabitants and that the corresponding climate coefficient of the settlements of the Greek Territory be equal to or greater than 0.8. Especially for the granting of a heating allowance to pellet consumers, an additional condition is set that the property is located in a settlement with a population equal to or less than 25,000 inhabitants and that the corresponding climate coefficient of the settlements of the Greek Territory be equal to or greater than 0.8. All settlements included in the metropolitan areas of Athens – Piraeus and Thessaloniki, as well as the settlements included in the Municipality of Ioannina, are excluded from the grant of heating allowance for the consumption of firewood and pellets. Especially for the granting of a heating allowance to consumers of thermal energy through district heating, an additional condition is set that the property is located in one of the municipalities of Serres, Eordaia, Kozani, Amyntaio or Megalopolis.

Exceptions

The following are excluded from the granting of the allowance:

1. the natural persons, who are declared in the Personal Income Tax Declaration as dependent members of the debtor.
2. natural persons, who declare in the Personal Income Tax Declaration that they are hosted,
3. the natural persons subject to the luxury living tax as well as the natural persons who have more than two E.I.X. cars or co-ownership rates, on E.I.X. of cars, which together correspond to more than two cars, including those in voluntary immobility status. They do not include E.I.X. cars immobilized, which refers to cases of destruction or theft,
4. natural persons for their professional accommodation,
5. the institutions, organizations and all kinds of legal persons of a profit or non-profit nature or legal entities,
6. foreign tax residents, who are required to submit an income tax return in Greece, as well as their spouse or the party to a cohabitation agreement with them.

Electric current

Especially for natural persons who apply for a subsidy for electricity consumption, the beneficiaries of the Social Household Tariff are excluded from the grant on the deadline for submission of the applications of the beneficiaries of this decision.

10. The first installment of the allowance (totaling €150 million) will be paid by December 23, 2024 as follows:

a) In the event that the application is submitted by an applicant to whom the allowance had been paid and during the winter period 2023-2024 the heating allowance is granted:

• 60% of the total amount of the allowance paid to him during the winter period 2023-2024
• 100% of the allowance that had been paid to those who used electricity for heating. The advance payment for the specific beneficiaries cannot exceed 60% of the amount of this year’s allowance with a minimum amount of 80 euros.

b) For an applicant who was not a beneficiary of the 2023-2024 season, the advance payment is set at 50% of the amount resulting from the product of the base amount by the climate coefficient (SK) of the settlement of the beneficiary’s main residence and in any case may not to fall short of 80 euros.

The amount of the remaining installments is determined based on the weather conditions for the period from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, calculated after deducting the advance payment and will be paid:

• Until May 30, 2025 for purchases related to consumption from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 and whose documents have been issued until April 15, 2025 and provided that the required information is entered until April 30, 2025.
• Until July 30, 2025 for natural gas for purchases related to consumption from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 and whose documents have been issued until June 30, 2025 and provided that the required information is entered until July 15, 2025.

Source: RES-MPE