ENERGY CHECK. In 2023, the payment of the energy check will be a little late. Simulation, request, complaint… We take stock.

[Updated March 15, 2023 at 8:48 AM] The sending of the energy check will take place later than usual. Indeed, since 2018, this aid of between 48 and 277 euros depending on your reference tax income was paid on March 31. In 2023, the date was set for April 21 due to the “exceptional” workload of state services, explained the Minister of Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher on RMC Monday March 13. You can use it until March 31, 2024. 5.8 million people are affected, i.e. the weakest 20% of households. Remember that the sending of this energy check is automatic, no action on your part is expected. Finally, be aware that you only have a few days left to use your energy check version 2022, the deadline is March 31, 2023.

The payment of the energy check is made by department. The 2023 check will be sent automatically from April 21, 2023 depending on your department of residence.

The energy check is awarded each year, depending on your income and the composition of your household. It is sent to you, automatically, on the basis of the information transmitted by the tax services, and provided that you have made your income tax return within the deadlines set by the tax authorities. You must also live in accommodation subject to housing tax (even if you are exempt). You can also decide to “pre-assign” it to your energy supplier.

The energy check is reserved for the most modest households. Its allocation depends on the resources of the household and the composition of the household: your reference tax income is taken into account. Please note that it must be less than 10,800 euros per consumption unit (CU). As an indication, a person represents a CU. The second person is counted at 0.5 and each person at 0.3 CU. To find out if you can benefit from the energy voucher, you must therefore divide your reference tax income by the number of consumption units in your household.

Very concretely, this means that the reference tax income must not exceed:

To determine your eligibility for the energy check scheme, you can go to the site dedicated to the energy check. There is no simulator in the strict sense of the term. On the other hand, we invite you to enter your tax number to determine if you are eligible for the device. By entering your tax ID, the site tells you whether or not you are concerned. If this is not the case, the following message is displayed: “If you nevertheless think that your household fulfills the conditions of income and composition to benefit from the energy voucher, or, if you are an approved operator for housing in rental intermediation and you wish to check the eligibility of a sub-leased household for the energy check, you can nevertheless continue with the eligibility test”. You are then invited to complete a questionnaire comprising three questions.

The amount of the energy check depends on the resources and composition of your household. To determine this, the government has established a scale. Here is the scale that applies in 2022.

As you can see, a single person can receive an energy check for a maximum amount of 194 euros in 2023. Note that the energy check can be combined with the Ma Prime Rénov aid, the device that replaces the tax credit for Energy Transition (CITE).

You don’t have to do anything. The energy voucher is awarded automatically. In practice, it is the tax administration that sends the list of eligible households to the Services and Payment Agency (ASP). The latter is in charge of editing and sending the check by post. Eligible households therefore receive it automatically, without having to fill out any form. There is therefore no point in contacting the services in charge of the energy check if you are not eligible.

Energy check assistance can be reached on 0 805 204 805 (freephone number), Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. “In case of heavy traffic, we recommend that you call in the morning from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., or at the end of the day from 5:00 p.m.”, we warn on the energy check site.

Are you sure you meet the conditions for the energy check, and yet there is no trace in your mail? In this case, contact support, either via the contact form on the dedicated site, or by telephone. Remember to bring your tax notice. “To be able to benefit from the energy check, you must have declared your income to the tax services (even if your income is low or zero)”, we recall in the Frequently Asked Questions. “After having regularized your situation, you will be able to apply for an energy check. On the other hand, if you have still not declared your income for the following year, you will no longer be able to claim the benefit of the energy check”.