Alaska Heating Assistance Program 2026: Limits and Apply

For the national picture and how other states draw their lines, see our LIHEAP income limits by state page. This guide covers what's specific to Alaska.

Alaska's Heating Assistance Program at a Glance: 2 Programs, 3 Kinds of Help

Alaska runs 2 heating programs on one application, and each household gets 1 benefit a season from 1 of 3 components. DPA's page says federal LIHEAP serves households up to 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, and the Alaska Affordable Heating Program (AAHP), paid from the state General Fund, serves households above 150% and up to 225%.

Sources: DPA Heating Assistance Program page; HAP Policy Manual sections 3004-1 and 3004-5; Alaska FY2026 LIHEAP plan, sections 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Two ground rules from DPA: the benefit is paid once a year, usually as a credit on your fuel or electric account, not as monthly cash. And if you heat with self-harvested wood, purchased firewood or wood pellets, the state plan says the payment goes directly to you.

Alaska Heating Assistance Income Limits for 2026-27

Alaska's limit is 225% of the 2026 Alaska poverty guideline, measured on gross income for the month before you apply. Alaska has its own, higher poverty guideline: HHS sets it at $41,250 a year for a family of four in 2026, compared with $33,000 in the lower 48. DPA's chart covers the FFY 2027 season, October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.

Sources: monthly figures from HAP Policy Manual Addendum E, "FFY 2027 AK Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, October 1, 2026 - September 30, 2027," which DPA says is based on the January 2026 Federal Register notice and rounds every figure down. The 225% figures for 1 to 6 people and the $1,331 add-on match DPA's applicant page. Yearly figures are the monthly limit times 12.

When the figures change next. Addendum E runs through September 30, 2027. HHS publishes new poverty guidelines each January, so expect DPA to post FFY 2028 limits before the next season opens on October 1, 2027.

How Alaska counts income. According to DPA's FAQ, you list all household income received in the month before DPA gets your application, or a 12-month average if you're a seasonal worker or self-employed. Bank statements don't count as proof, because they don't show gross pay. The HAP manual excludes Permanent Fund Dividends, Alaska Native corporation dividends under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, student aid under Title IV and bona fide loans. Households where everyone gets TANF, SNAP or SSI are categorically eligible on income, but Alaska's plan says they still fill out the full application and send heating and electric bills. For health coverage with similar paperwork, see our Alaska Medicaid income limits guide.

How Much Alaska Pays: The 35-Point Benefit Formula

Alaska's award is a point count times a dollar rate, capped at 35 points. The HAP manual's grant computation section lays out 8 steps, and for the FY2027 season it sets the rate at $175 a point for LIHEAP-eligible households and $130 a point for AAHP-eligible households. Alaska's FY2026 federal plan lists the matching range: a $350 minimum and a $6,125 maximum.

Step 1: community points. Every community gets heating cost points for oil and, where it exists, natural gas, based on local fuel prices and climate. A few examples from Addendum A, FFY 2027:

Wood, coal and pellets use a share of the oil points: 0.5 for self-harvested wood or coal, 0.8 for purchased wood or coal, and 0.9 for pellets. Electric and steam heat use the full oil points.

Step 2: dwelling factor. Points are multiplied by a size factor: 1.3 for a home with 3 or more bedrooms, 1.0 for a 2-bedroom house, duplex or triplex, 0.7 for a 2-bedroom unit in a building of 4 or more units or a mobile home under 980 square feet, 0.55 for a 1-bedroom home or one-room cabin, 0.15 for a studio or hotel room, and 1.4 for a mobile home or boat with 980 square feet or more.

Step 3: income share. You keep a share of the points based on income as a percent of the Alaska poverty level:

Steps 4 to 8. Add 1 point if anyone in the home is 60 or older, legally disabled, or a child under 6 (one point per household). If the total is under 2.0 points, the application is denied for "limited heating points." Round to the nearest whole point, cap at 35, and multiply by the rate. Households in subsidized housing that get a utility allowance have the total cut by 50%.

Worked example. For example, a family of three in Fairbanks earning $3,000 a month with an oil heat bill, renting a 3-bedroom house, with a 4-year-old at home: Fairbanks oil is 10 points, times 1.3 for the house is 13. Their income sits between 100% ($2,845) and 125% ($3,556) of the Alaska poverty level for three, so they keep 60%, or 7.8 points. The child adds 1, for 8.8, which rounds to 9. At $175 a point, that's $1,575.

A senior in rural Alaska often gets more. A 68-year-old woman in Nome living alone in a 1-bedroom house on $2,000 a month starts with 17 oil points, times 0.55 is 9.35. Her income is between 100% and 125% for one person ($1,662 to $2,077), so 60% leaves 5.61. The senior point makes it 6.61, rounded to 7, or $1,225.

Now a family of four in Wasilla earning $6,500 a month, in a 3-bedroom house. That income lands in the 175% to 200% band, so they're an AAHP household keeping 30% of points. With oil heat: 7 x 1.3 x 0.3 = 2.73, rounded to 3, times $130 = $390. With natural gas: 5 x 1.3 x 0.3 = 1.95, which is under 2.0, so they'd be denied for limited heating points. Specifically, the same income and house earn $390 with oil and $0 with gas. A common mistake is assuming that qualifying on income means getting a benefit.

Season Dates and Deadlines for 2026-27

The 2026-27 heating season gives you 7 months to apply, from October 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027, according to DPA's page and HAP manual section 3004-1. Here's the full calendar.

HAP manual section 3004-1 also says that if money is left at the end of the season, DPA may send a supplement to households that got heating or crisis benefits before the federal fiscal year ends. Alaska's plan notes that operating dates depend on LIHEAP funding.

Federal funding status. Alaska's state share of the first FY2027 federal release is $10,372,505, according to ACF's state allotment table (opens in a new tab). That release, $3,631,860,000 nationwide on October 9, 2026, is what ACF calls 90% of the funds available under the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (Public Law 119-103), signed September 2, 2026. ACF also says funds are restricted for any grantee without an approved FY2027 plan. The rest of the year's money depends on what Congress passes next, so Alaska's full FY2027 total isn't known yet. The AAHP tier is paid from the state General Fund, not from this federal grant.

Tribal Heating Assistance: Who Applies Where

Alaska has 13 tribal organizations that run their own LIHEAP programs, and ACF's first FY2027 tribal allotment table (opens in a new tab) gives them $9,755,317 between them. DPA's FAQ is blunt about the rule: you can't get heating assistance from the state if you're eligible to apply with a tribal organization, and applying in the wrong place delays your benefit.

Addendum A of the HAP manual marks each community one of three ways:

• Tribe serves all residents (marked "0"). Everyone in the community, Native or not, applies to the tribal organization. Examples: Bethel (Orutsararmuit Native Council), most Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta villages (AVCP), Dillingham and most Bristol Bay villages (BBNA), and Fort Yukon, Galena and many Interior villages (TCC).
• Tribe serves Alaska Native and American Indian residents only (marked "*"). Native residents apply to the tribe; everyone else applies to DPA. Examples: Anchorage, Eagle River and Girdwood (CITC); Fairbanks, North Pole and Delta Junction (TCC); Juneau, Ketchikan and Petersburg (THRHA); Kenai, Soldotna and Sterling (KIT); Sitka (Sitka Tribe of Alaska); Unalaska and Sand Point (APIA).
• No tribal provider listed. DPA serves everyone. Examples: Wasilla, Palmer, Homer, Kodiak, Nome, Kotzebue, Valdez and most Northwest Arctic and North Slope villages.

Tribal programs set their own benefit rules and dates, so the point formula above applies to DPA applications only. Check your community in Addendum A or ACF's tribal LIHEAP contact map before you send anything. DPA updated Addendum B's contact details on October 9, 2026 (Transmittal 2026-03), including new contact information for CITC.

How to Apply for Alaska Heating Assistance in 4 Ways

DPA takes the same HAP1 application 4 ways for heating, crisis and SRHUD help, according to its program page:

1. Online through the Alaska Connect Portal, linked from the Heating Assistance Program page.
2. In person or by mail at any Public Assistance office (opens in a new tab), or by mail to Heating Assistance Program, PO Box 110640, Juneau, AK 99811-0640.
3. By fax to 888-269-6520.
4. By email to hss.dpa.offices@alaska.gov, with every required signature on the form.

You can also apply by phone; the HAP manual lists a telephonic application process. In rural areas, DPA's FAQ says fee agents can help you fill out the form, and using one is optional. To check whether DPA got your application, call the Virtual Contact Center at 1-800-478-7778 and stay on the line for a person rather than the automated option.

Documents to send. DPA's FAQ lists what avoids delays:

• A completed, signed and dated HAP1
• All pay stubs from the month before DPA receives your application; Form B from your employer if stubs are missing, Form C (12 months) for seasonal work, or Form A plus your latest tax return if you're self-employed
• Year-end statements or award letters for Social Security and retirement income
• A copy of ID, such as a Social Security card, license, state ID, BIA or tribal enrollment card, or passport
• Your most recent primary heating fuel bill and electric bill
• If heat is included in rent: your rental agreement showing that and your latest rent receipt
• If you live in Section 8 or subsidized housing: your rental housing worksheet
• If you live in a trailer, the outside length and width; if you live on a boat, the square footage of heated space
• A disconnect notice, if shutoff is within 48 hours

Split the grant. If you want half your grant to go to your electric company, check "yes" on the application and include an electric bill. DPA's FAQ says you must ask when you apply; it can't be changed later.

Timeline. DPA says processing can take up to 45 days from a complete application. In the meantime, it tells applicants to keep paying and to ask the fuel or electric vendor for a deferred payment agreement.

Crisis Help and Alaska's Shutoff Rules: The 48-Hour Window

Alaska treats a household as in crisis when it's within 48 hours of running out of fuel or of an electric or gas disconnection, according to HAP manual section 3000-2. A renter facing eviction for unpaid rent that includes heat also counts. Alaska's plan says any electric disconnection within 48 hours is a crisis no matter what fuel heats the home, because the furnace, well pump and freezer all need power.

• Speed. The HAP manual sets 48 hours for a regular crisis and 18 hours for a life-threatening one, after DPA receives a complete application.
• Life-threatening. Someone in the home uses prescribed medical equipment that needs power or fuel, and the household is out of fuel or within 48 hours of it. Alaska's plan accepts your own statement about the equipment.
• Amount. Alaska doesn't run a separate crisis pot. The plan says crisis households get the amount the vendor needs to prevent the shutoff or restore service, up to the grant the household qualifies for, and applications move to the front of the line.

Alaska has no winter shutoff moratorium. The LIHEAP Clearinghouse's April 2026 disconnection table lists no date-based, temperature-based or extreme-weather protection for Alaska. The protections come from 3 AAC 52.450 (opens in a new tab), the Regulatory Commission of Alaska's disconnection rule for regulated utilities:

Heating oil, propane and wood dealers aren't covered by these rules. If you think a utility broke them, the Clearinghouse lists the Regulatory Commission of Alaska at 907-276-6222 or 800-390-2782.

Alaska's FY2027 LIHEAP Money Per Resident

Alaska's state LIHEAP release for FY2027 so far is $10,372,505, and its 13 tribal programs get another $9,755,317. Grantsights analysis of ACF's October 9, 2026 state and tribal tables and Census Bureau July 1, 2025 population estimates found the state share works out to $14.07 per resident, 20th of the 50 states and D.C., against an average of $10.44. Adding the tribal awards brings Alaska to about $27.30 per resident.

Sources: ACF FY2027 first release state table (opens in a new tab) and tribal table (opens in a new tab); Census Bureau Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab). The tribal-inclusive figure divides by Alaska's whole population; tribal programs serve only their own areas and, in some towns, only Native residents.

Per-resident money matters less in Alaska than the size of each award, because fuel in a Kobuk Valley village earns 35 points while Juneau oil earns 5. In practice, the state's dollars are stretched across very different heating bills, which is why the point formula leans so hard on community.

What DPA's Heating Assistance Pages Don't Tell You

DPA's pages give the limits and the dates, but 6 points are easy to miss.

1. Natural gas in Southcentral often earns very few points. Anchorage gas is 5 points. A household in an apartment, or one above 150% of poverty, can fall under the 2.0-point floor and get nothing. Small units and AAHP households heating with gas are the ones most likely to be denied for "limited heating points."
2. The early mailing only reaches last year's recipients. Older adults, people with disabilities and families with children under 6 get applications in late September or early October only if they got HAP the year before. First-time applicants have to ask.
3. The PFD doesn't count against you. Many applicants underestimate how much room they have under the limit because they count the dividend. The HAP manual excludes it.
4. Subsidized renters lose half. A utility allowance from AHFC, HUD or a regional housing authority cuts the benefit by 50%, and that allowance is also counted as income.
5. You can't change the electric split later. If half your grant should go to the electric company, say so on the HAP1.
6. Where you apply depends on your town and, in some towns, on whether you're Alaska Native. Sending the form to the wrong agency is a red flag for delay; check Addendum A first.

Programs That Stack With Heating Assistance

At least 4 other programs can lower an Alaska heating or power bill alongside HAP.

DPA's FAQ lists these weatherization agencies: Alaska Community Development Corp. (800-478-8080) for Mat-Su, Kenai Peninsula, Copper River and Kodiak; Interior Weatherization (907-452-5323) for the Interior; RurAL CAP (800-478-7227) for Anchorage, Juneau and western and northern Alaska; and RurAL CAP Anchorage (907-279-2511) for Southeast outside Juneau. For roof or wiring repairs beyond weatherization, our home repair grants guide covers USDA and other routes.

Common Mistakes and Scam Red Flags

These 5 mistakes slow down Alaska applications the most, based on DPA's FAQ and the HAP manual:

• Sending bank statements as income proof. DPA says they're not adequate. Send pay stubs, an employer letter or Form B.
• Leaving off the dwelling details. Bedrooms, trailer size or boat square footage set your factor. A missing number holds up the grant.
• Applying with the wrong agency. Check Addendum A for your community before you mail anything.
• Waiting for the fuel tank to run dry. You're in crisis at 48 hours of fuel left. Apply then, not after.
• Picking an unapproved vendor. If an approved vendor serves your area, you must use one. Wood and pellet households are paid directly instead.

Scam red flags for Alaska households. Fake utility callers are common enough that the FTC keeps a page on scammers who pretend to be your utility company (opens in a new tab). It says real utilities don't demand same-day payment to avoid disconnection, and anyone asking for gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency or payment apps is a scammer. In Alaska, watch for:

• A caller threatening to cut your power "today" on a Friday; Alaska rules bar regulated utilities from shutting off on Fridays
• Anyone charging a fee to file your HAP1; DPA and tribal applications are free, and fee agents are an optional, state-arranged service
• A text or website promising a "heating grant" deposited to your bank account; HAP pays your vendor in most cases
• Someone offering to buy or share your benefit; DPA's FAQ says benefits can't be sold, bartered or shared

Hang up and call the Alaska utility or fuel dealer at the number printed on your own bill. Report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab).

Denied by DPA or Out of Funds: 4 Next Steps in Alaska

Alaska gives you 30 days from the mailing of the notice of action to ask for a fair hearing, according to HAP manual section 3009.

1. Ask for a fair hearing in writing. Alaska's plan says a supervisor reviews the case and holds a pre-hearing conference first. If that doesn't resolve it, the file goes to a hearing officer in Anchorage. In the plan's prior federal year, Alaska held 2 fair hearings.
2. Push a stalled application. If your complete application is more than 45 days old, call 1-800-478-7778. The plan says it then goes to DPA's Workflow Management Team, which checks for crisis, elderly, disabled or young-child households first.
3. Fix a points denial. If you were denied for limited heating points, check that your bedroom count, fuel type and household members were recorded right. A missed senior, disabled member or child under 6 adds a full point.
4. Look past HAP. Ask your utility for a deferred payment agreement, apply for General Relief Assistance at a DPA office, or dial 211. Our emergency cash assistance guide lists one-time help, our rental assistance guide covers rent, older Alaskans can check our help for seniors guide, and our Lifeline guide covers a cheaper phone bill.

For how LIHEAP works nationally, including the federal funding timeline, see our national LIHEAP guide, and for the guideline Alaska's limits are built on, our federal poverty guidelines guide.

Not sure which program fits your Alaska household? The free eligibility checker on Grantsights takes a couple of minutes: choose "Individual," then "Personal financial help," and it points you to official routes for bills, rent, food and benefits screening, not grants. For a heating bill in Alaska, that route ends at DPA or the tribal provider for your community.

Sources

1. Alaska DPA: Heating Assistance Program (opens in a new tab) - 2026-2027 Alaska income guidelines, LIHEAP and AAHP tiers, application methods, Alaska season dates
2. Alaska DPA: Heating Assistance FAQ (opens in a new tab) - Alaska processing time, income proof, tribal rule, electric split, weatherization contacts
3. Alaska DPA: Heating Assistance Program Policy Manual (dpaweb.hss.state.ak.us/manuals/HAP) - sections 3000-2, 3001-1, 3004-1, 3004-3, 3004-5 and 3009; Addendum A (FFY 2027 Alaska community listing), Addendum B (FFY 2027 Alaska tribal providers), Addendum E (FFY 2027 Alaska income table), Addendum G (Alaska countable income); Transmittal 2026-03
4. LIHEAP Clearinghouse: Alaska FY2026 LIHEAP plan (opens in a new tab) - Alaska benefit range, crisis definition, fund split, fair hearings
5. LIHEAP Clearinghouse: Alaska state profile (opens in a new tab) - Alaska program dates, Power Cost Equalization, General Relief Assistance
6. LIHEAP Clearinghouse: Disconnect Policies (opens in a new tab) - Alaska entry, April 2026
7. HHS ASPE: 2026 Poverty Guidelines (opens in a new tab) - Alaska guideline table
8. ACF: First Block Grant Funding Release FFY 2027 (opens in a new tab) - October 9, 2026 release under Public Law 119-103
9. ACF: FY2027 first release, state allotments (opens in a new tab) - Alaska state share $10,372,505
10. ACF: FY2027 first release, tribal allotments (opens in a new tab) - 13 Alaska tribal grantees
11. Alaska Administrative Code: 3 AAC 52.450, disconnection of service (opens in a new tab)
12. Alaska Administrative Code: 3 AAC 52.445, deferred payment agreements (opens in a new tab)
13. Census Bureau: Vintage 2025 state population estimates (opens in a new tab)
14. FTC: Scammers Pretend To Be Your Utility Company (utility scam warnings for Alaska households) (opens in a new tab)