Carer's Allowance: who qualifies, how much it pays and how to claim
Carer's Allowance pays £86.45 a week in 2026/27 if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week. Who qualifies, the earnings limit and how to claim.
What is Carer's Allowance?
Carer's Allowance is a weekly benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for people who give at least 35 hours a week of unpaid care to someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit, and for 2026/27 it is £86.45 a week. GOV.UK's Carer's Allowance guide says you do not have to be related to the person or live with them, and that only one carer can claim for the same person. You pay tax on it if your total income is above your Personal Allowance, and each week you get it adds a Class 1 National Insurance credit to your record, which counts towards State Pension and some other benefits.
Care can include help with washing and cooking, taking someone to appointments, and dealing with bills and shopping. Age UK's Carer's Allowance factsheet (May 2026) adds that savings do not affect it, that supervision and sleeping over can count, that the 35 hours can be spread across any days of a week running from Sunday, and that there is no upper age limit.
Who can claim Carer's Allowance?
You can claim if you are 16 or over, you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week, you are not in full-time education or studying for 21 hours a week or more, your earnings are £204 a week or less after deductions, and you have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years and normally live in England or Wales. The person you care for must already get one of the benefits listed on GOV.UK's eligibility page, which include Attendance Allowance at either rate, the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment, the middle or highest care rate of Disability Living Allowance and Scottish equivalents such as Pension Age Disability Payment.
If the person you look after has not yet claimed, that comes first, because Carer's Allowance depends on their award, and our guide to Attendance Allowance explains how someone over State Pension age claims and what to write on the form.
How does the Carer's Allowance earnings limit work in 2026/27?
The earnings limit for 2026/27 is £204 a week, measured after tax, National Insurance and certain expenses rather than on your gross pay. GOV.UK's eligibility page lists the expenses that can be deducted, including half of your pension contributions, equipment you need for the job and travel between workplaces that your employer does not pay for. If you pay someone other than a close relative to look after the person you care for, or your children, whilst you work, costs of up to half your earnings can be treated as an expense, and income from an occupational or private pension does not count as earnings at all.
The limit works as a cliff edge, so earning even a penny over it means losing the whole benefit. In the Budget 2026 document, published on 28 October 2026, the government said it will replace this in England and Wales with a taper that reduces the payment as earnings rise above the limit, which the Budget's costings call a 100% taper and Carers UK explains as losing £1 of benefit for each £1 earned over the limit. The taper is to be implemented during 2030/31, after a new IT system has been developed, so the all-or-nothing rule applies until then.
The independent Sayce Review of Carer's Allowance overpayments reported in November 2025, and the DWP has since said that its guidance on averaging irregularly fluctuating earnings was unclear from April 2015 to September 2025. Its announcement of 13 April 2026 said it would review over 200,000 cases, that around 25,000 carers "could see their debts reduced, cancelled entirely, or receive refunds", and that carers do not need to contact the DWP. For anyone claiming now, GOV.UK says an overpayment may have to be repaid if a change was not reported straight away, so reporting a new job or a change in pay promptly matters.
Can you get Carer's Allowance and State Pension at the same time?
You can qualify for both, but you cannot be paid the full amount of both, because Carer's Allowance overlaps with State Pension. GOV.UK says that if your State Pension is £86.45 a week or more you will not get a Carer's Allowance payment, and if it is less you get enough Carer's Allowance to make up the difference. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27 and the full basic State Pension is £184.90, so anyone on a full State Pension of either kind receives no Carer's Allowance payment.
Claiming can still be worthwhile because of the underlying entitlement, which Carers UK describes as meeting the conditions without being paid. GOV.UK's Pension Credit page confirms that this can add a carer amount of £48.15 a week to Pension Credit. As an illustration, a single carer whose only income is the full new State Pension of £241.30, with no housing costs and savings under £10,000, is just above the Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee of £238 and gets nothing, but with an underlying entitlement the guarantee rises to £286.15, so they could receive £44.85 a week of Pension Credit.
The DWP's claim notes add that an underlying entitlement without payment does not affect the benefits of the person you care for. There is a separate claim form, DS700(SP), for people who get a State Pension, and GOV.UK notes that if you are deferring your State Pension, you cannot build up extra State Pension for any period you get Carer's Allowance.
How can Carer's Allowance affect the person you care for?
When Carer's Allowance is paid to you, the person you care for will usually stop getting any severe disability premium or severe disability addition with their own benefits, which in Pension Credit is £86.05 a week for 2026/27. GOV.UK's page on the effect on other benefits says so and adds that they may also stop getting reduced Council Tax, whilst the DWP's claim notes confirm that Carer's Allowance does not reduce their Attendance Allowance, PIP or Disability Living Allowance.
The figures can almost cancel out. As an illustration, if you are paid £86.45 a week and the person you care for loses an £86.05 severe disability addition, the two of you together gain just 40p a week before tax, and only if you get no means-tested benefit yourself, since GOV.UK says Universal Credit, for example, is reduced by the same amount as your Carer's Allowance. Age UK warns that the person cared for can end up much worse off, for example if they also lose reduced Council Tax, even though you gain National Insurance credits. The DWP requires you to tell them, or their legal representative, before you claim, and a benefits check with Citizens Advice, Carers UK or a local Age UK shows which arrangement suits you both. If the person may lose capacity, our guide to setting up a lasting power of attorney explains how they can choose someone to act for them whilst they still can.
How do you claim Carer's Allowance and can it be backdated?
You can claim online through GOV.UK or by post on form DS700 (or DS700(SP) if you get a State Pension), which the Carer's Allowance Unit will send if you call 0800 731 0297. You will need your National Insurance number, your bank details unless you already get a State Pension, your latest payslip if you work and details of any expenses, as well as the date of birth, address and National Insurance number of the person you care for.
GOV.UK says a claim can be backdated by up to 3 months. The DWP's claim notes add that if the person you care for is waiting for a decision on their benefit, you can claim within 3 months of their award without losing money, and Age UK explains that this can take your claim back to the start of their award. Age UK also says you can claim up to 3 months before you expect to qualify. If you disagree with the decision, you can ask for mandatory reconsideration, usually within one month, and then appeal to a tribunal.
What happens to Carer's Allowance during breaks in caring?
Short breaks do not end your claim, but longer ones have to be reported. GOV.UK says the person you care for must still be getting their disability benefit, and that you must tell the DWP if you or they will be in hospital, a nursing home or respite care for more than 12 weeks, or if you stop caring for more than 28 days for any other reason. Age UK sets out the detail: once you have been caring for 22 weeks you can take up to 4 weeks off in any 26-week period, or up to 12 weeks if you are in hospital.
The point to watch is that your claim depends on their benefit. Attendance Allowance stops after 28 days in an NHS hospital, and Age UK explains that Carer's Allowance stops at the same time, as it does 28 days into a care home stay funded by the council or by NHS continuing healthcare, which our guide to NHS continuing healthcare covers. If the person pays their own care home fees, their benefit continues and yours can too, provided you still give 35 hours of care a week. If the person you care for dies, Carer's Allowance continues for up to 8 weeks, which our guide to Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance after a death explains.
What is Carer's Credit?
Carer's Credit is a National Insurance credit for carers under State Pension age who look after one or more people for at least 20 hours a week, and it protects your State Pension record without paying any money. GOV.UK's Carer's Credit guide says you do not need to apply if you get Carer's Allowance, because the credits come automatically, and that income and savings do not affect eligibility, so it mainly helps if you care for fewer than 35 hours a week or miss out on Carer's Allowance for another reason. If the person you care for has no qualifying benefit, a health or social care professional can sign a Care Certificate to go with the CC1 application form instead, and credits continue through breaks of up to 12 weeks in a row.
What is different in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
In Scotland, Carer's Allowance has been replaced by Carer Support Payment from Social Security Scotland, which was introduced in stages from November 2023 and became available across the country in November 2024. It pays up to £86.45 a week, and mygov.scot says carers who get it are paid a Scottish Carer Supplement of £11.70 a week automatically, which has replaced the twice-yearly Carer's Allowance Supplement for most carers, whilst those caring for more than one person can apply for a Carer Additional Person Payment of £10.40 a week for each further person they care for at least 20 hours a week. Existing Carer's Allowance awards were transferred automatically, a process the Scottish Government says is complete.
In Northern Ireland, Carer's Allowance continues with the same £204 earnings limit but is claimed through nidirect from the Department for Communities.
What to do next
Check that the person you care for has a qualifying benefit, or help them claim one first.
Work out your weekly earnings after tax, National Insurance and allowable expenses, and compare them with £204.
If either of you gets Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, get a benefits check, and tell the person you care for before you apply.
Claim online or by post, within 3 months of their award if it is new.
Report changes in pay, hospital stays and care home moves promptly, and look at Carer's Credit if you do not qualify.
Ask the council for a carer's assessment of your own needs, and see our guide to care needs assessments for how the person you look after is assessed.
Carers UK, Carers Trust and Citizens Advice all give free, independent advice. Carers often hold the details of the accounts, bills and benefits of the person they look after, and writing those down now makes things easier later, because after a death every bank, utility, insurer and subscription has to be told. If that work does fall to you, Legacy Trail's free notification service can contact the private-sector companies on your behalf.
Frequently asked questions
Working full time does not in itself rule you out, as long as you still spend at least 35 hours a week caring and your earnings after tax, National Insurance and allowable expenses are £204 a week or less. The caring hours can fall in evenings, nights and weekends, so what usually decides a claim is the earnings limit, which full-time pay will often exceed unless deductions such as care costs bring it down.
No. Only one carer can claim for each person, and you cannot be paid twice for caring for two people. If you share care, the other carer may be able to get Carer's Credit to protect their National Insurance record.
Yes. GOV.UK lists it among the taxable benefits, so it counts towards your income alongside any earnings or pensions. Whether you actually pay tax depends on whether your total income is above your Personal Allowance.
Yes. You can claim for caring for a partner, relative, friend or neighbour, provided they get a qualifying benefit and you meet the other conditions. Where both partners in a pension-age couple care for each other, Age UK explains that each may be able to claim for an underlying entitlement, which can add a carer amount to their Pension Credit.
Not if you are in full-time education or study for 21 hours a week or more, although part-time study below that level can be compatible with a claim. In Scotland, Carer Support Payment is open to some full-time students who could not get Carer's Allowance.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.