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Cape Ann Current: Keeping Cape Ann current

Free public information for Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea, in plain English

Fuel assistance check (HEAP)

Business · Economy · Tool

Answer four questions and see whether your household is likely to qualify for Massachusetts fuel assistance (HEAP) this season, and about how much it pays. This is a quick check built from the state's own chart. The decision is always made by Action Inc. and the Commonwealth.

Everyone who lives with you, including children.
Add up everyone's gross income: wages, Social Security, pensions, unemployment.
Subsidized means public housing or a Section 8 or similar voucher.
The official chart. Numbers here come from the Commonwealth's "Fiscal Year 2027 Home Energy Assistance Program Income Eligibility and Benefit Levels" chart dated June 22, 2026. The state's own page, with the chart and the full rules, is mass.gov: Learn about Home Energy Assistance (HEAP), or mass.gov/HeatingHelp. If this page and the state's chart ever disagree, the state's chart is right.

The full chart

Income limits by household size, and the base benefit for each income band. Your row lights up as you change the questions above.

People100% of poverty125%150%175%200%60% of state median (the limit)
Base benefitUp to 100%Up to 125%Up to 150%Up to 175%Up to 200%Up to 60% SMI
Owner or regular renter, delivered fuel$600$550$510$470$470$430
Owner or regular renter, utility or heat in rent$500$460$425$390$390$355
Subsidized housing, delivered fuel$420$385$355$325$325$300
Subsidized housing, utility or heat in rent$350$325$300$275$275$250

How we built this. Date: Oct. 13, 2026. Source: Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, FY2027 HEAP Income Eligibility and Benefit Levels chart (June 22, 2026), built on the federal poverty guidelines published Jan. 15, 2026. Unit: gross yearly household income in dollars; benefits in dollars for the season. What is missing: the chart's High Energy Cost Supplement, an extra payment for households whose heating cost last year was above a threshold, is still marked "to be decided" by the state. On Oct. 5, 2026 the Governor's energy emergency order said HEAP benefits would rise about 20 percent for delivered fuel homes and 15 percent for utility homes; the June chart does not yet show that increase, so your actual benefit may be higher than the base shown here. Households of 18 or more: contact the state.

Apply through Action Inc., 180 Main St., Gloucester, 978-281-3900, or online at toapply.org/ACTION. See also: Heating oil costs 74% more than last fall and the heating oil calculator.

Free to use and share under the Free Access and Attribution Policy. Source: Cape Ann Current.