Bought a new boiler this year? Some can get £100+ back

In February, my old boiler went kaput and I had to buy a new one. Then in March, I read that the (previous Conservative) Government was delaying its 'boiler tax' scheme, and that 'refunds' might be due by some boiler manufacturers, for levies they'd added to new boilers at the start of this year. I did some research, harassed my boiler installer, who in turn harassed his supplier, and finally, I got £120 paid back to me.  But very few people seem to know about this, and it's not clear how to claim it. So I'm writing this to spread the word and hopefully get you some money back.

What is the 'boiler tax'?

In 2023, the previous Conservative Government proposed a scheme, known as the Clean Heat Market Mechanism (CHMM), which would fine boiler manufacturers if they didn't sell a certain proportion of heat pumps each year, compared to their boiler sales, to help meet net zero emission targets. The scheme was supposed to start on 1 April 2024.

So, in anticipation of being fined, from 1 January 2024, many of Britain's top boiler manufacturers put up their gas boiler prices, by up to £120.

But in March, the Conservative Government announced it was delaying the start of the scheme to 1 April 2025 (although this may not be the case now Labour are in power). Yet thousands of households who'd bought a new gas boiler at the beginning of the year, will have likely had this 'boiler tax' added to their bill.

Who could be due a 'boiler tax refund'?

If you bought a new Baxi, Ideal, Worcester Bosch or Vaillant/Glow Worm boiler between 1 January 2024 and 21 March 2024, you may have had up to £120 (excluding VAT) added to the cost – and you can ask for it back.

How much could I get?

The amount you can claim depends on the manufacturer of your new boiler, and it may be higher if the amount had VAT added (meaning an extra 20%). Below are the costs that were added by each manufacturer between 1 January and 21 March 2024.

How do I claim the the money back?

This is where it's not so clear cut. Not everyone will have had the levy added to the cost of their new boiler.

Boiler manufacturers don't typically sell directly to household customers, but instead sell their boilers to installers and plumbers merchants. The additional cost would have been passed onto them from the manufacturers, but not necessarily passed on to you. So whether or not you're owed money back will depend on whether the installer you used passed this extra cost on to you.

The first place to check is your invoice or bill from the company or tradesperson who installed your boiler. It may mention 'CHMM', 'Clean Heat Market Mechanism' or 'tax levy'. It may, however, say nothing and it was just included in the total price.

Whether it's obvious you've had an extra cost added to the price of your boiler or not, go back to your installer and ask. 

In my case, I couldn't see any "extras" added to my invoice but I still asked my installer the question, who asked the plumbers merchant where he bought my boiler. After some back and forth, the plumbers merchant did eventually refund my installer, who in turn refunded me.

The boiler manufacturers involved have said they have refunded their customers (the suppliers, plumbers merchants and installers who buy directly from the manufacturers). Wolsely and City Plumbing, two of the biggest UK distributors of boilers, have said they have received the manufacturers' refund and have passed this on to their customers (potentially your installer).

But that means many installers that added the extra charge to your boiler cost, have benefited from the manufacturers' refunds, and are now sitting on potentially £100 or so of your money. And you're within your consumer rights to ask for this to be returned.

How many people could be missing out on this 'refund'?

According to renewables technology company Warmur (previously the Heating Hub), an estimated 500,000 households could be affected by this, based on annual boiler sales of around 1.7 million, so an average of 425,000 new boilers sold every quarter. But in winter months sales are generally higher, so we can assume between January and March 2024, there will likely have been more than the 425,000 new boiler sales. The manufacturers involved in adding the levy have 90% of the market share of all new boiler sales in the UK, suggesting most of the new boiler sold in this time will have had the levy added.