Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week in 2026/27 if you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get one of the qualifying benefits. You do not have to be related to them or live with them. This guide explains who qualifies, how it affects other benefits and how to claim.
Key points
✓You must provide at least 35 hours a week of care to claim
✓The person you care for must get a qualifying disability benefit (e.g. PIP daily living)
✓Worth £86.45 per week (2026/27)
✓Earnings limit is £204 a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses: earnings over it in a week mean you are treated as gainfully employed for every day of the following week
✓Can affect the other benefits that you and the person you care for get, so check the effect before claiming
Who can claim Carer's Allowance?
You can claim Carer's Allowance if:
✓Yes: You're 16 or over
✓Yes: You spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
✓Yes: The person you care for receives PIP daily living component (either rate), DLA middle or high care component, Attendance Allowance, or certain other disability benefits
✓Yes: You are not in full-time education and not studying for 21 hours a week or more
✓Yes: You are not subject to immigration control
✓Yes: Your earnings after allowable deductions are no more than £204 per week (2026/27)
✓Yes: You normally live in England or Wales, and have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years (this does not apply if you are a refugee or have humanitarian protection status)
You do not need to live with the person you care for. You can care for someone who lives separately, as long as you provide the required hours of care.
If someone else also cares for the same person as you, only one of you can claim Carer's Allowance.
Scotland, Carer Support Payment: in Scotland, Carer's Allowance has been replaced by Carer Support Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland. New carers in Scotland apply for Carer Support Payment; the rate matches Carer's Allowance (£86.45).
Can you get Carer's Allowance for a disabled child?
Yes, if the child already gets a qualifying benefit and you meet the other conditions. The qualifying benefits on GOV.UK's list include Disability Living Allowance at the middle or highest care rate and Child Disability Payment at the middle or highest care rate. If the child is under 16, you give their Disability Living Allowance reference when you claim.
Carer's Allowance is currently £86.45 per week (2026/27). You can choose to be paid weekly in advance or every 4 weeks, into an account such as your bank account.
You may also get an extra amount of Universal Credit for caring for someone who gets a disability-related benefit, whether or not you get Carer's Allowance.
The earnings limit: Your earnings must be £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses. Expenses include 50% of your pension contributions and some care costs. If your earnings in a week are over £204, the regulations treat you as gainfully employed on every day of the following week, and you are only entitled to Carer's Allowance for a day on which you are not gainfully employed.
How Carer's Allowance affects other benefits
Carer's Allowance can affect the other benefits that you and the person you care for get:
✓Yes: GOV.UK says that when you claim, your total benefit payments will usually either go up or stay the same, and the benefit cap does not affect you
✓Yes: If you get Universal Credit, your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by an amount equal to your Carer's Allowance payment
✓Yes: You cannot be paid Carer's Allowance and State Pension in full at the same time: if your pension is £86.45 a week or more you will not get a Carer's Allowance payment, and if it is less you get a payment to make up the difference
✓Yes: If you get Pension Credit and your State Pension is more than £86.45 a week, you will not get a Carer's Allowance payment but your Pension Credit will increase instead, by the £48.15 a week additional amount for carers
✓Yes: When you get Carer's Allowance, the person you care for will usually stop getting a severe disability premium paid with their benefits, and an extra amount for severe disability paid with Pension Credit
✓Yes: You get Class 1 National Insurance credits for Carer's Allowance payments, which help you qualify for some other benefits and State Pension
GOV.UK says you can check whether the severe disability payment will stop by contacting whoever pays that benefit. To see how your own benefits change, you can use one of the independent, free and anonymous benefits calculators GOV.UK lists (entitledto, Turn2us and Policy in Practice). GOV.UK also lists independent help and advice from Carers UK, Carers Trust and Citizens Advice.
How to claim Carer's Allowance
1
Check the person you care for receives a qualifying benefit
GOV.UK says the person you care for must already get one of the qualifying benefits, for example the PIP daily living component, the Disability Living Allowance middle or highest care rate or Attendance Allowance.
2
Claim online or by post
Claim online at gov.uk/carers-allowance. If you cannot apply online, you can apply by post or call the Carer's Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297 to request a form (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). You need your National Insurance number (and your partner's if you have one) and your bank or building society details, unless you get your State Pension. You also need the person you care for's date of birth and address, plus their National Insurance number if they are 16 or over or their Disability Living Allowance reference if they are under 16.
3
Backdating
You can backdate your claim by up to 3 months.
What happens when caring ends or circumstances change
✓Yes: You must report changes in your circumstances if you are claiming or have applied for Carer's Allowance. GOV.UK's examples include starting a job, changes to your income, stopping being a carer and the person you care for no longer getting their disability benefit
✓Yes: You must tell DWP if you temporarily stop providing care and you or the person you care for will be in hospital, a nursing home or respite care for more than 12 weeks, or you stop caring for more than 28 days for any other reason
✓Yes: You must tell DWP if the person you are caring for dies
✓Yes: If the person you care for dies, Carer's Allowance runs on until the end of the week you stop meeting another condition or the expiry of eight weeks beginning with the Sunday following the death, whichever comes first
✓Yes: You may have to repay money if you did not report a change straight away, gave wrong information or were overpaid by mistake. Our overpayments guide below covers when a Carer's Allowance overpayment can be recovered
✓Yes: DWP is reassessing Carer's Allowance overpayments that took place between 10 April 2015 and 2 September 2025. If you have been affected you may get a refund or your debt reduced or cancelled, and you do not need to contact the Carer's Allowance Unit about it
It has an earnings limit. GOV.UK's list of conditions sets an earnings limit and does not mention savings. GOV.UK says all of the following must apply: you are 16 or over, you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone, you have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years, you normally live in England or Wales, you are not in full-time education, you are not studying for 21 hours a week or more, you are not subject to immigration control, and your earnings are £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses. Payments that do not count as earnings include money received from an occupational or private pension. Carer's Allowance can still affect the other benefits that you and the person you care for get.
How much is Carer's Allowance?
Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week in 2026/27. You have to pay tax on it if your income is over the Personal Allowance, and it can affect the other benefits that you and the person you care for get. For each week you get it you automatically get National Insurance credits.
Can I work and still claim Carer's Allowance?
Yes. GOV.UK says you can work and get Carer's Allowance, as long as you spend at least 35 hours in your caring role. Your earnings must be £204 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses, and expenses can include 50% of your pension contributions. If your earnings in a week are over £204, the regulations treat you as gainfully employed on every day of the following week.
Does Carer's Allowance affect other benefits?
Yes. GOV.UK warns it can affect the other benefits that you and the person you care for get. The person you care for can lose the severe disability additional amount in Pension Credit, which is £86.05 a week, because that is only payable while no one is entitled to and in receipt of Carer's Allowance for caring for them. Check the whole household position with a benefits calculator before you claim.
What is the Carer Support Payment in Scotland?
Carer Support Payment is what you apply for instead of Carer's Allowance if you live in Scotland. It is run by Social Security Scotland and pays up to £86.45 a week, the same as Carer's Allowance. You might get less than that if you get certain other benefits, such as State Pension, and DWP reduces income-related benefits such as Universal Credit to take account of it.
What extra carer payment is there in Scotland?
Scottish Carer Supplement is an extra £11.70 a week paid automatically on top of Carer Support Payment, and it has replaced Carer's Allowance Supplement. It has no effect on other benefits. There is also Carer Additional Person Payment, extra money for each additional person you care for. Social Security Scotland awards all three at the same time if you are eligible, in one payment every 4 weeks.
Know Your Rights UK. "Carer's Allowance: What You're Entitled to as a Carer." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/benefits/carers-allowance