Heat-pump funding 2026: who gets what from KfW – and what is not funded

Short answer: Federal heat-pump funding for existing residential buildings has, since 21 July 2026, run through KfW product 458, not BAFA. The basic grant is 30 percent of eligible total costs. Owner-occupiers can add the climate-speed bonus (currently 16 percent) and the income bonus (40 / 30 / 10 percent), capped at 70 percent – or 80 percent where taxable household income is up to 30,000 euros (up to 40,000 euros with the family supplement). The maximum eligible costs counted are 28,000 euros for the first dwelling, 15,000 euros each for the second to sixth, and 8,000 euros each thereafter. Fossil boilers, used plant and a contract without a suspensive or resolutory condition before the application are not eligible.

BAFA remains responsible for the building envelope and the eligible-appliance list, not for the heat-pump grant itself. The topic hub is Heat pump. What drives the invoice is in Heat-pump costs. Whether you must replace the system is in Heat pump, GEG and replacement.

Who gets what – federal

The building must be existing stock: the building application or building notice must be at least five years old at the date of application. The minimum investment is 300 euros gross.

The percentages that official pages state today

BMWE FAQ A.2.2 works an example, not a market range: eligible costs 22,000 euros, taxable income 28,000 euros → basic grant 6,600 euros + income bonus 8,800 euros = 15,400 euros. The same FAQ table puts the 2026 ceiling, with all bonuses used, at 22,400 euros (80 % of 28,000).

The Federal Government uses the same 28,000-euro figure as “a maximum of 28,000 euros of costs funded”. That is the assessment cap, not a flat 28,000-euro cheque.

Federal vs Land vs tax

• Federation, heating: KfW 458 (private, residential), application in the Meine KfW portal. Heating-funding hotline 0800 539 9013.
• Federation, envelope / heating optimisation / building network: BAFA, not KfW. The heat pump itself is not on the BAFA grant list.
• Federation, loan: top-up loan 358 / 359, only after a grant approval, via the house bank. The product page states up to 120,000 euros of credit per dwelling; the interest-reduced variant 358 is, in the FAQ, tied to owner-occupation and taxable income up to 90,000 euros. The fetched product page does not publish a 2026 interest rate – so none is stated here.
• Federation, tax instead of a grant: Income Tax Act § 35c – 20 percent of expenses over three years (7 / 7 / 6 percent, at most 14,000 / 14,000 / 12,000 euros), ceiling 40,000 euros per property, building older than ten years, specialist firm, invoice, bank transfer. Not combinable with a BEG grant or an interest-reduced loan for the same measure (subsection 3; FAQ 1.32).
• Land / municipality: possible on top, but only if the programme allows stacking. BEG FAQ 1.35 sets the cumulation ceiling for non-municipal applicants at 60 percent of the costs actually funded (municipalities 90 percent). Individual Land euro amounts are not stated here because no complete current Land guidelines were fetched on 18 August 2026.

What is expressly not funded

From sheet 458, the BEG EM guideline of 17 July 2026 and the BMWE FAQ:

• Fossil heating systems (FAQ A.2.1). Gas-, oil- or coal-fired generators in building networks are ineligible, except fuel cells and the extra investment cost of hydrogen-ready appliances.
• Gas-driven heat pumps and heat pumps that use room air as the source (TMA 3.4).
• Used plant, plant with substantially used parts, self-built units and prototypes (fewer than four examples).
• Operation, maintenance, energy supply under hire / contracting; at most the instalments for up to 10 years’ use are eligible.
• A stand-alone heater where the municipality has transparently decided that the plot is to be connected to a heat network (bylaw, connection-and-use obligation).
• The same measure in parallel at KfW and BAFA.
• BEG EM and BEG WG/NWG at the same time if both approvals rest on the guidelines from 21 July 2026 – then a three-year lock after proof of use (FAQ A.5.4).
• § 35c and BEG for the same measure.
• An application after the project has started: an unconditional supply or works contract, or the start of building work, before the application rules funding out. The suspensive or resolutory condition must not be inserted afterwards.
• A tenant application for heating replacement.

Technically KfW pays only if the unit is on the BAFA appliance list and meets the TMA: among other things a seasonal performance factor of at least 3.0 (VDI 4650 Part 1: 2019-03), hydraulic balancing, for air-to-water 10 dB below the EU noise limit in Regulation 813/2013, a digital interface under EnWG § 14a, and an order for an intelligent metering system after commissioning. From 1 January 2028 the guideline funds only natural refrigerants.

Sequence before you sign

1. Have an energy-efficiency expert or specialist contractor prepare a Bestätigung zum Antrag (BzA).
2. Conclude a supply or works contract with a suspensive or resolutory condition tied to KfW approval – and enter the expected implementation date.
3. Apply in Meine KfW (product 458) before building work. Upload the BzA and the contract.
4. Install only after approval (or, consciously at your own risk, after applying). Approval period in the FAQ: 36 months.
5. After completion, a Bestätigung nach Durchführung (BnD), invoices paid, proof of use within six months of completion, and at the latest six months after the approval period ends.

Funding is subject to available budget. The KfW product page states there is generally no legal entitlement.

What this tip is not

It does not replace the KfW pre-check or tax advice. It does not copy the topic tables on permits, noise and boreholes. The duty question belongs in Heat pump, GEG and replacement, the invoice in Heat-pump costs. The topic remains Heat pump.