Efficiency bonus: abolished, and who still receives it
Since 21 July 2026 a ground source or propane heat pump earns no extra grant. Older applications keep it, and for some households the new rules pay more anyway.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Old and new grant compared
Difference
-€3,620
| Up to 20 July 2026, with efficiency bonus | €16,500 (55 %) |
| Today, no efficiency bonus | €12,880 (46 %) |
Oil boiler replaced; ground source or natural refrigerant in the old case.
The efficiency bonus (Effizienzbonus) was a 5 % top-up on the KfW 458 heating grant for heat pumps using water, ground or waste water as their source, or running on a natural refrigerant such as propane. It no longer applies to applications reaching KfW from 21 July 2026, and neither does the €2,500 supplement for low-dust biomass boilers. Anyone who applied by 20 July 2026 keeps it: those applications are assessed and paid under the 2023 guideline. A replacement of sorts arrives in the first quarter of 2027, when the basic grant for heat pumps is due to fall to 15 %, with a 15 % value-added bonus for units made in the EU. The start date has not been set. For a €35,000 heat pump replacing an oil boiler, the old rules paid €16,500 to a household on €60,000; today it gets €12,880. A household on €25,000, by contrast, now gets €22,400 instead of €21,000.
What the efficiency bonus was
The guideline of 21 December 2023 included, under no. 8.4.3, a 5 % efficiency bonus for heat pumps (BEG EM guideline 2023). It went to anyone who tapped water, ground or waste water as a new heat source, or installed a unit with a natural refrigerant. Every owner could get it, landlords included, and it was added to the 30 % basic grant. Biomass boilers instead had a flat €2,500 supplement under no. 8.4.6 if they emitted particularly little fine dust.
Together with the climate and income bonuses, the grant was capped at 70 % of €30,000, so €21,000 for a single-family house. The efficiency bonus therefore mattered most to households without the income bonus; those with every bonus hit the ceiling anyway.
Why it was dropped
KfW announced the cut in its press release of 8 July 2026: the efficiency bonus and the emission reduction supplement end. The new guideline of 17 August 2026, in force since 21 July 2026, no longer mentions it. The ministry explains in its questions and answers that the bonus was mostly paid for natural refrigerants and helped make them the market standard, so technology-specific support is no longer needed. The government also wanted a simpler scheme with bonuses tied more closely to income.
Who still receives it
What counts is when the application arrived. At KfW the deadline was 8 pm on 20 July 2026. During the changeover from 9 to 20 July 2026 no new confirmations for the application (Bestätigung zum Antrag) could be issued; anyone who already had one could still apply under the old terms. Those applications fall under the last version of the replaced guideline. Approvals already issued remain binding, and applications already submitted are assessed under the old rules.
| Situation | Efficiency bonus | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Approved before 21 July 2026 | yes | 2023 guideline, unchanged |
| Application received by 20 July 2026, approved later | yes | 2023 guideline |
| Confirmation issued, application from 21 July 2026 | no | 2026 guideline |
| New application today | no | 2026 guideline |
| Old approval withdrawn, new application for the same project | no | six months after the withdrawal at the earliest |
With an old approval, the system must be installed as applied for. If the planned ground source unit becomes an air source unit with a synthetic refrigerant, the condition for the bonus is gone. Conversely, KfW’s product page treats a change of heat source, say from air to water, as a new project, so the six-month lock after withdrawal does not apply to it.
What losing it means at each income
The comparison shows that the reform does not leave everyone worse off. It assumes an owner-occupied single-family house with an oil boiler and a €35,000 heat pump, once with an application on 20 July 2026 and the efficiency bonus, once with an application today.
| Income | Applied 20 Jul 2026 | Rate | Applied today | Rate | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €60,000 | €16,500 | 55 % | €12,880 | 46 % | -€3,620 |
| €45,000 | €16,500 | 55 % | €15,680 | 56 % | -€820 |
| €35,000 | €21,000 | 70 % | €19,600 | 70 % | -€1,400 |
| €25,000 | €21,000 | 70 % | €22,400 | 80 % | €1,400 |
Higher earners lose twice: the efficiency bonus and part of the climate bonus, plus €2,000 of eligible costs. At €45,000 the new third band of the income bonus makes up almost all of it. At €25,000 the new rules come out ahead, because the ceiling has risen to 80 %. Homes without any bonus are hit hardest: replacing a 12-year-old gas boiler on €90,000 brought €10,500 with the efficiency bonus, €9,000 without it, and €8,400 today.
Apply now or later?
Grant on that date
€11,445
| Climate speed bonus | 12 % |
| If you apply now | €12,880 |
| Waiting costs | €1,435 |
Income above €50,000, so no income bonus.
What comes in 2027 and 2028
There is no successor to the efficiency bonus, but two changes affect the same units. First, from the first quarter of 2027 the basic grant for heat pumps is due to fall to 15 %, offset by a 15 % value-added bonus for heat pumps originating in the EU. Both rates are already in the guideline; the start date, the exact definition of origin and the proof required have not been published. In our €60,000 example, an application in April 2027 would bring €11,445 with an EU unit and €7,358 without. Both figures are provisional until the details are out.
Second, from 1 January 2028 only heat pumps with a natural refrigerant will be funded, for example propane (R290) or carbon dioxide (R744). What used to earn a bonus becomes a condition. When you get a quote today, you can ask the installer which refrigerant the unit uses. Heat pump costs covers what to budget, and the grant calculator shows the grant for your application date. Pellet boilers face a similar step on dust: from 1 October 2027 the strict dust limit that used to earn the supplement applies to every funded biomass system, according to the guideline (pellet boiler grant).
How to spot outdated figures
Any calculation showing a 5 % efficiency bonus, a 20 % climate bonus or a €30,000 cap dates from before 21 July 2026. Many English summaries written for expats have not been updated. An application today gets a 30 % basic grant, the 16 % climate speed bonus until 31 January 2027, the three-band income bonus and a €28,000 cap. The whole programme is set out under KfW 458.