Pennsylvania’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, known as LIHEAP, is scheduled to open its 2026-27 season on November 2, with one-time cash grants of $200 to $1,000 paid to a household’s utility or fuel provider. The Department of Human Services sets the income cutoff at $49,500 a year for a household of four, and renters qualify along with homeowners. A household does not have to receive public assistance or owe an overdue heating bill. The state says the grant does not have to be repaid, and the 2025-26 season is already closed.
Income limits rise with household size, and the current table took effect February 1, 2026. A single person can earn up to $23,940 a year, two people $32,460 and three people $40,980. Four people reach $49,500, five $58,020 and six $66,540. The ceiling climbs to $100,620 for a household of ten, and each person beyond ten adds $8,520. Those cutoffs work out to $1,995 a month for one person and $4,125 a month for four.
A household of four at or under $49,500 still has to apply once the season opens November 2, and the grant range runs five times from lowest to highest. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit includes heating, cooling and home-repair help for older homeowners and renters, with how to claim each program.
Find heating, cooling and home-repair help in the Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit →
A cash grant paid to the provider
The cash grant is the program’s main benefit. The state puts it between $200 and $1,000 and says the amount depends on household size, income and fuel type. The money goes to the utility or fuel provider instead of to the household, so it pays for heat directly. The state’s page says it plainly: “Remember: This is a grant and does not have to be repaid.” Renters and homeowners both qualify, and the department says neither public assistance nor an unpaid heating bill is required.
The state also made a smaller payment this summer. Pennsylvania paid a one-time $100 supplement beginning July 29 to about 193,000 households that received LIHEAP in 2025-26 and include someone with a disability, someone 60 or older or a child under six. Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh said, “We know that even though winter is over, many Pennsylvanians may still need assistance with utility bills from last season.” The supplement came from leftover federal money, and the department says it does not affect 2026-27 eligibility.
What counts as a heating emergency
A separate crisis grant covers heating emergencies. The state lists four qualifying situations: broken heating equipment or leaking lines that must be repaired or replaced, no fuel or less than a 15-day supply, a complete shut-off of the main heating source or a second heating source, and a utility shut-off notice for service ending within the next 60 days. Each one describes a household that is close to losing heat, not one that is simply behind on a bill.
The order of steps matters. A household that has not received a regular LIHEAP benefit this season must apply to be considered for crisis help, while a household already paid should contact its county assistance office to report the emergency. The state’s page gives no closing date or application deadline for the 2026-27 season, so the length of the window is something the department has yet to announce.
Federal money and last season’s scale
LIHEAP runs entirely on federal money. The Department of Human Services says the program is 100% federally funded, and its 2025-26 season helped more than 278,000 households before it ended May 8, 2026. The state’s LIHEAP page credits the program to a federal grant from the Office of Community Services, Grant Number 2501PALIEA. The 193,000 households that received the $100 supplement are about 70 percent of last season’s total.
The department said in July that details on the 2026-27 season would be released later this year, and the November 2 date is the first firm point in that schedule. The page publishes the income table, the grant range and the crisis rules, and it also posts the LIHEAP Policy Handbook and brochures in English, Spanish, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Russian and Vietnamese. It lists no documents that a household must bring.
Applying once the season opens
The state’s LIHEAP page directs households to their county assistance office or the LIHEAP hotline at 1-866-857-7095, and hearing-impaired callers can use 711. The same page points to trackmybenefits.pa.gov for checking an application’s status.
The department also runs myCOMPASS PA, a mobile app for people who have applied for or receive state benefits. It lets users check the status of applications, upload documents and report changes from a phone. The state’s LIHEAP page does not say that the app takes new LIHEAP applications, so the county office and hotline remain the listed routes.
One figure frames the whole season: a $200-to-$1,000 grant that the state sends to a vendor, set by household size, income and fuel type, with no published closing date. Households under the table’s limits, such as a single person at $23,940 or four people at $49,500, are the ones the state says can apply, and those facing a 15-day fuel supply or a 60-day shut-off notice are the ones it says must apply rather than wait.
Fifteen days of fuel is the line the state draws
A heating emergency starts when fuel drops below 15 days or a shut-off notice is 60 days out, and the cash grant ranges from $200 to $1,000. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit pulls heating, cooling and home-repair help together for older homeowners, with how to claim each program. The kit runs 64 pages.
Get the heating, cooling and home-repair help guide in the Relief Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Money Overview’s editorial team.
