Heat Pump Subsidies in Austria 2026: What Homeowners Can Claim

Anyone swapping an old oil or gas boiler for a heat pump in Austria can draw on several pots of public money. The catch: the schemes no longer carry the names they did two years ago, the amounts have been revised downwards more than once, and the 2026 federal budget was already empty in July. If you are planning a switch now, you need to know the order in which to apply — get it wrong and, in the worst case, you walk away empty-handed despite being fully eligible.

This overview sorts out the three tiers that matter to private homeowners: the federal subsidy under the Sanierungsoffensive (the government's renovation drive), the income-tested "Sauber Heizen für Alle" (Clean Heating for All) scheme, and the top-up grants offered by the federal states. The practical questions around installation, flow temperatures and renovation work are covered separately in our article on heat pumps in older buildings — this piece is purely about the money.

"Raus aus Öl und Gas" no longer exists in that form

Many homeowners are still searching for "Raus aus Öl und Gas" (Out of Oil and Gas). That federal scheme has expired; in autumn 2025 it was replaced by the Sanierungsoffensive — structurally similar, but with its own rules. The maximum subsidy rate fell from 75 to 30 per cent, and €360 million a year was earmarked for 2026 to 2030, €1.8 billion in total (climate ministry BMLUK, 3 October 2025). It is administered by Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC), and registration ran online via sanierungsoffensive.gv.at. The term "Kesseltausch" (boiler swap) refers to the part of the programme that funds the replacement of the heating system itself.

The 2026 federal subsidy: up to €7,500 for a heat pump

Under the 2026 boiler swap, grants of at most 30 per cent of eligible costs could be claimed from mid-November 2025, capped at €7,500 for a heat pump. For ground-source heat, meaning a heat pump with a borehole or well, a €5,000 bonus came on top, for up to €12,500 in total. Switching to wood-fired central heating was funded with up to €8,500, connecting to local or district heating with up to €6,500; a solar thermal system added €2,500 (KPC, Sanierungsoffensive 2026 boiler-swap briefing, November 2025). Supplies and work from 3 October 2025 onwards were eligible.

Crucially, this federal subsidy involves no means test. Private individuals can apply for detached and semi-detached houses as well as terraced houses; the funding criteria set no minimum age for the old heating system. Required are an energy-advice report, the decommissioning of every fossil system including disposal of the fuel tank, and installation by a licensed professional — DIY installation is therefore ruled out. A funded heat pump may need a flow temperature of at most 55 °C, its refrigerant may have a global warming potential (GWP) of at most 750, and a connection to local or district heating must not be possible (also according to KPC).

The federal subsidy has no income ceiling — but it does have a budget ceiling. In 2026 it was reached as early as July.

The budget ran out fast — and that changes the strategy

Funds are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis: once the budget is spent, applications close immediately, even before the formal deadline. Since 2 February 2026, new registrations had only been possible for the boiler swap, and the renovation bonus for thermal refurbishment took no new applications (oesterreich.gv.at, as of 6 August 2026). On 13 July 2026 the climate ministry reported that the €360 million of the 2026 Sanierungsoffensive had been fully claimed and registration had closed; in total, around 53,000 households are switching from oil and gas heating (BMLUK, 13 July 2026). Applications already registered remain valid and are processed under the previous conditions.

What is new is the autumn restart: on 2 November 2026 the boiler swap for detached, semi-detached and terraced houses is due to reopen, funded from cancelled or unrealised projects — the ministry expects around €20 million by the end of the year. Funding will already follow the 2027 rates: flat payments of €5,000 for a heat pump, €4,000 for a district heating connection and €6,000 for wood heating; the drilling bonus and the solar bonus remain. The subsidy rate falls to around 20 per cent in 2027, and advance registration is dropped — the process is simply application, approval, final accounting. For 2027, €179 million is available for the boiler swap and €321 million for renovation, with thermal renovation due to start on 4 January 2027 (BMLUK, 15 October 2026).

For your strategy, that means the November pot is small and again allocated in order of receipt. The basic rule still holds: commission the installer before the funding conditions are clear, and you risk losing the subsidy. We recommend clarifying the funding landscape at the early planning stage — much as we describe in more detail in our piece on switching away from oil and gas heating.

"Sauber Heizen für Alle": up to 100 per cent for low-income households

In 2026 there was a separate track for low-income households. "Sauber Heizen für Alle 2026" funded the switch from oil, gas, coal or electric storage heaters to district heating, wood-fired central heating or a heat pump with up to 100 per cent, limited by technology-specific maximums: €25,586 for an air-to-water heat pump, €37,550 for a brine-to-water or water-to-water heat pump (KPC information sheet "Sauber Heizen für Alle" 2026, version 01/2026). The funding is made up of the federal base subsidy, the state subsidy and a top-up — so it builds on the boiler swap rather than replacing it.

The condition is a household income in the bottom two income deciles. For a single-person household, the sheet puts this at up to €1,867 net a month (paid twelve times), calculated by Statistics Austria from EU-SILC 2024; each additional adult adds a factor of 0.5 and each child under 14 a factor of 0.3. For two adults with two children that works out at around €3,920. Proof can be receipt of social assistance or an exemption from the ORF broadcasting levy; otherwise income is assessed using the state's housing-allowance method or via the transparency database.

Eligible were owners of a detached, semi-detached or terraced house with their main residence at the project site, established before 31 December 2024. Registration ran from 1 January 2026 via sauber-heizen.at for as long as the budget lasted; it ended in July 2026 when the funds were used up (BMLUK, 13 July 2026). After approval, there were nine months for completion and final accounting. For 2027 the ministry says it will develop the programme further and integrate it into the Sanierungsoffensive; amounts and deadlines are still to come (BMLUK, 15 October 2026).

The regional subsidies — and what matters when combining them

Beyond the federal level, most states add something on top. The rates differ considerably, and this is precisely where the size of the overall subsidy is decided. Two examples:

In Vienna, the city funds the switch to highly efficient alternative heating in owner-occupied houses with 35 per cent of eligible costs, up to €8,000; for ground-source heat, groundwater or waste heat a one-off €4,000 is added, and the federal subsidy can be claimed as well (City of Vienna, retrieved 18 October 2026). Upper Austria pays €100 per kilowatt of heating output for an air-to-water heat pump in 2026, up to €1,700, €170 per kilowatt for particularly efficient ground- and groundwater-source heat pumps, up to €2,800, and €140 per kilowatt for a district heating connection, likewise up to €2,800. The state grant covers at most half the costs, runs until the end of 2026 while funds last, and can be combined with the federal subsidy (State of Upper Austria, boiler-swap programme). The other states have their own models, some as one-off grants, some through housing subsidies.

The good news: federal and state subsidies can in principle be combined, which noticeably raises the total. The bad news: the sum of all grants must not exceed the actual investment costs, and each state has its own deadlines and sequences. Some state schemes require the federal subsidy to have already been applied for or approved; others run independently. Because guidelines can change during the year, it is worth checking the current state website or booking a session with the free energy advice service in your state before signing any contract.

Applying in the right order

To make sure no entitlement is lost, a clear sequence has proven itself. First: check the funding landscape — federal, state and, where applicable, municipal. Second: obtain the state energy-advice report that the federal subsidy requires. Third: apply — in 2026 that meant registering at sanierungsoffensive.gv.at or sauber-heizen.at; with the restart on 2 November 2026 advance registration is dropped. Only then commission the installer, unless the guideline allows otherwise.

Under the 2026 boiler swap, the actual funding application had to be submitted within nine months of registration (KPC). If you are unsure whether the switch pays off overall, you can set the subsidy against current electricity prices — our overview of electricity prices in 2026 provides the necessary context.

The bottom line: heat pumps were solidly subsidised in Austria in 2026, with state money reaching five figures at best, as long as the budget lasted. From November the €5,000 flat rate is less than in 2026, but the procedure is simpler. In case of doubt, the official guidelines of KPC, Umweltförderung and the relevant state are always binding — the amounts given here reflect the position on 18 October 2026 and may change during the year.