Carer's Allowance 2026/27 -- Eligibility, Rates and How It Affects Other Benefits

Who qualifies for Carer's Allowance?

To claim Carer's Allowance you must meet all of the following conditions:

• You spend at least 35 hours per week providing care to a disabled person. The care does not need to be personal physical care -- it includes supervision, accompanying to appointments and support with daily tasks.
• The person you care for must be receiving a qualifying disability benefit (see below).
• Your net earnings must not exceed £151 per week.
• You are not in full-time education (more than 21 hours/week of supervised study).
• You are aged 16 or over and normally resident in England, Scotland or Wales.

You do not need to live with the person you care for, and you can care for more than one person -- but the 35-hour threshold applies per person you wish to claim CA in respect of, and you can only receive one CA payment at a time.

Qualifying disability benefits for the cared-for person

The person you care for must be receiving one of the following:

• Personal Independence Payment (PIP) -- daily living component at any rate (standard or enhanced)
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA) -- middle or highest rate care component
• Attendance Allowance at either rate
• Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate (paid with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or War Pension)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Child Disability Payment (Scotland) -- middle or highest care component
• Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) -- daily living component at any rate

Importantly, claiming CA does not affect the cared-for person's disability benefit. However, if the cared-for person is also a carer themselves and receives a Severe Disability Premium in their own means-tested benefits, your CA claim may reduce that premium -- a trap to check before applying.

The earnings limit: how net pay is calculated

The earnings limit of £151 per week is based on your net earnings, not gross pay. The following deductions are made before comparing against the limit:

• Income tax deducted from your earnings
• National Insurance contributions (employee only)
• 50% of any pension contributions you pay (both employee and employer contributions count, but only half is deducted)
• Approved childcare costs up to 50% of your net earnings, provided the childcare is from a registered or approved provider
• Reasonable business expenses if self-employed (trade expenses only, not capital expenditure)

The earnings limit is assessed on a weekly basis. If your pay varies, a single week above £151 net will cause you to lose CA for that week -- you must notify the Carer's Allowance Unit within month of knowing about the change.

Worked example: part-time carer and worker

Overlapping benefits: State Pension and Carer's Allowance

The overlapping benefits rule means you cannot receive full payment of both Carer's Allowance and certain other benefits simultaneously. The most common overlap is with the State Pension. If your State Pension is at least as high as the weekly CA rate (£81.90), your CA payment is reduced to nil.

However, this does not mean claiming is pointless. You can still have underlying entitlementto CA even when the payment is zero. Underlying entitlement acts as a passport to:

• The Carer Premium of £45.60 per week in Pension Credit (which can significantly increase your Pension Credit award)
• The Carer Element of £198.31 per month in Universal Credit
• The Carer Addition in legacy means-tested benefits (Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit)

You should still apply for CA even if blocked by State Pension, because these add-ons can be worth substantially more than the £81.90 weekly CA payment itself.

Carer's Allowance and Universal Credit

If you are receiving Universal Credit, CA interacts in two ways. First, receiving CA triggers the Carer Element of £198.31 per month, which is added to your maximum UC award. Second, CA counts as unearned income and reduces your UC award pound for pound. The net benefit from having CA is therefore the Carer Element -- the CA payment itself is largely offset.

For claimants on UC who also have earnings, the work allowance (the amount you can earn before the 65% taper applies) remains available alongside CA. This means that for working carers on UC, the interaction is generally favourable: you get the Carer Element and are not penalised for working within the earnings limit.

Carer's Credit: protecting your State Pension

If you provide between 20 and 35 hours per week of unpaid care but do not meet the full CA conditions (because you care for fewer hours, study, or earn above the limit), you may be eligible for Carer's Credit.

Carer's Credit is not a payment -- it is a National Insurance credit that fills gaps in your NI record to protect your State Pension entitlement. Each year of Carer's Credit counts as a qualifying year of NI contributions. You need 35 qualifying years for the full new State Pension (£241.30/week in 2026/27).

To claim Carer's Credit you complete a CC1 form (available from gov.uk) and submit it to the Carer's Allowance Unit. You can also claim it retrospectively in some circumstances. People who were caring but did not realise they could claim NI credits should check their NI record on the Government Gateway and apply for backdated credits if gaps exist.

Tax implications

Carer's Allowance is taxable income. It is added to any other taxable income you receive (wages, self-employment profits, pension income, savings interest above the Personal Savings Allowance) before calculating whether you owe income tax. The personal allowance of £12,570 means that CA alone (£81.90 x 52 = £4,258.80/year) is well below the tax threshold -- but combined with other income it could take you into the 20% band.

HMRC normally adjusts your PAYE tax code to collect any income tax due on CA, so you may see a lower-than-expected net pay if you are also employed. If you are self-employed or do not have a PAYE income, you will need to include CA on your Self Assessment return.

How to apply

You apply online at gov.uk/carers-allowanceor by phone to the Carer's Allowance Unit (0800 731 0297). You will need the following information:

• Your National Insurance number
• The cared-for person's NI number and details of their disability benefit
• Details of your income or earnings (payslips, P60)
• Details of any education you are undertaking
• Bank details for payment

Claims can generally be backdated up to 3 monthsbefore the date you apply. If you are awarded CA, you are responsible for reporting changes in circumstances within one month, including changes in earnings, hours worked or changes to the cared-for person's benefit.