# Paying for care at home: council assessments and charges

> Family & care · Last updated 25 September 2026

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## Quick answer

In England the council assesses your needs free, then means-tests what you pay for home care. Your home's value is ignored, and after charges you must keep at least the minimum income guarantee, £241.45 a week for a single person over Pension Credit age in 2026/27. Wales caps charges at £100 a week; Scotland's personal care is free.

## Who should skip this

Skip this if you're looking at a permanent care home place: our [care home funding guide](/family-life/care-home-funding-options/) covers that means test. If the person's needs are mainly health needs, read about [NHS continuing healthcare](/family-life/nhs-continuing-healthcare/) first, because the NHS pays for it in full.

Care at home is charged differently from care in a care home, and the rules vary a lot across the UK. In England the council first assesses your needs, then can means-test you for the help it arranges, but it has to leave you enough to live on. This guide explains both assessments, the income you're protected, disability-related expenditure and the rules in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with a worked example using 2026/27 figures.

## Key facts

- Needs assessments and care planning are free; in England, reablement for up to 6 weeks and aids and minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less are free too
- For care at home, the value of the home you live in is ignored in the financial assessment
- England 2026/27: a single person over Pension Credit age must be left with at least £241.45 a week after charges
- English councils should allow for disability-related expenditure and can set higher savings limits than £23,250 for home care
- Wales caps home care charges at £100 a week; in Scotland, personal care is free whatever your age, income or savings

## How do you get a care needs assessment?

Ask your council's adult social services for a needs assessment; in England you can start through [GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services), and in Northern Ireland you ask your Health and Social Care (HSC) trust. The assessment is free whatever your finances: the Care Act statutory guidance says councils can't charge for assessing needs or planning care, because those don't count as meeting needs.

In England, your needs meet the national eligibility criteria if they arise from a physical or mental impairment or illness, they stop you achieving 2 or more everyday outcomes, and as a result there is, or is likely to be, a significant impact on your wellbeing. The outcomes include managing nutrition, personal hygiene and toilet needs, getting dressed, using your home safely, keeping it habitable, keeping in touch with family and friends, and getting out to work, learning or local services. You count as unable to achieve an outcome if you need help with it, or if doing it alone causes significant pain or distress, puts you or others at risk, or takes much longer than normal.

If you qualify, the council draws up a care and support plan with a personal budget: what it would cost to meet your needs. Some help must always be free in England: intermediate care and reablement for up to 6 weeks (councils can offer longer), aids, minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less, and any service the NHS has a duty to provide.

## How does the financial assessment for home care work in England?

If the council decides to charge, it must carry out a financial assessment and give you a written record showing how the charge was worked out. For care at home, the value of the property you live in as your main or only home is always ignored. Other savings and investments count: above £23,250 you can be asked to pay the full cost, and between £14,250 and £23,250 the council adds a notional 'tariff income' of £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250. For home care these limits are minimums, and councils can set higher ones.

On income, earnings are always ignored, as are the mobility parts of PIP and Disability Living Allowance. Councils can count most other benefits and pensions, including Attendance Allowance and the daily living part of PIP, but must then leave you with at least the minimum income guarantee (MIG). The MIG is what you keep after housing costs such as rent and Council Tax (net of any help with them) and after disability-related expenditure. It's a floor, not a target: councils can let you keep more, set a maximum charge, or charge only a percentage of your disposable income, so ask for your council's charging policy.

*Minimum income guarantee for care at home in England, 2026/27 (DHSC local authority circular, 17 February 2026)*

| Your situation | Weekly amount |
| --- | --- |
| Single, aged 18 to 24 | £95.40 |
| Single, aged 25 up to Pension Credit age | £120.40 |
| Single, Pension Credit age or over | £241.45 |
| Lone parent aged 18 or over | £116.80 |
| Member of a couple, one or both aged 18 or over | £94.55 |
| Member of a couple, one or both over Pension Credit age | £184.30 |
| Added for each child you're responsible for in your household | £106.85 |
| Disability premium (single / member of a couple) | £51.55 / £36.75 |
| Enhanced disability premium (single / member of a couple) | £25.15 / £18.10 |
| Carer premium | £55.25 |

## What counts as disability-related expenditure?

If the council counts disability benefits such as Attendance Allowance as income, the statutory guidance says it should assess your disability-related expenditure (DRE) and let you keep enough to pay for needs it isn't meeting. The list is deliberately open-ended: any reasonable extra cost directly linked to your disability can count, and the council should look beyond what's in your care plan.

Examples in the guidance include a community alarm; privately arranged care, including respite; specialist washing powder or extra laundry; extra costs of a special diet; specially made clothing or footwear, or extra wear and tear; extra bedding, for example because of incontinence; heating or metered water costs above the average for the area and type of home; reasonable costs of basic garden maintenance, cleaning or domestic help your disability means you need; buying and repairing disability equipment; internet access, for example for blind and partially sighted people; and transport costs above what the mobility part of PIP or DLA covers.

Keep receipts and bills, and ask for a DRE assessment if the council hasn't offered one. Councils can refuse an item where a reasonable cheaper alternative exists, for example continence pads available free from the NHS.

## Worked example: what could the council charge?

Take a single person in England over Pension Credit age who lives in their own home, gets the full new State Pension of £241.30 a week and the higher rate of Attendance Allowance of £114.60 a week (2026/27 rates), and has £20,000 in savings. Their council uses the national savings limits for home care and counts the Attendance Allowance, as it may.

Their savings are £20,000 − £14,250 = £5,750 above the lower limit, and £5,750 ÷ £250 = 23, so the council adds £23 a week of tariff income. Assessed income is £241.30 + £114.60 + £23 = £378.90. After leaving the £241.45 MIG, the most the council could charge is £378.90 − £241.45 = £137.45 a week. It must then take off any Council Tax they pay after Council Tax Reduction, and their assessed disability-related expenditure: each £1 of DRE the council accepts cuts the charge by £1. The charge also can't be more than the council's cost of the care.

In Wales the same person couldn't be charged more than the £100 weekly maximum, and because £20,000 is below Wales's £24,000 limit for home care, their savings wouldn't count. In Scotland, the personal care in their package would be free, so any charge could only be for other help such as housework or shopping.

*Worked example: maximum weekly home care charge in England, 2026/27*

| Line | Amount | Where the figure comes from |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full new State Pension | £241.30 | GOV.UK, 2026/27 rate |
| Attendance Allowance, higher rate | £114.60 | GOV.UK, 2026/27 rate |
| Tariff income: (£20,000 − £14,250) ÷ £250 | £23.00 | Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014, reg 25 |
| Total assessed income | £378.90 | Sum of the lines above |
| Less minimum income guarantee (single, Pension Credit age) | −£241.45 | DHSC circular, 2026/27 |
| Most the council could charge before housing costs and DRE | £137.45 | £378.90 − £241.45 |

## How are home care charges different in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?

In Wales, councils can't charge more than £100 a week for care and support at home. In December 2024 Welsh Ministers decided to keep the maximum at £100 rather than raise it. GOV.WALES says you may pay up to that maximum if you have a high disposable income or savings over £24,000, not counting your home. Councils must leave you with a minimum income amount: your basic benefit entitlement plus a buffer of at least 35%, plus at least 10% for disability-related costs. You can ask for a review of any charge you think is wrong.

In Scotland, you get personal care free from the council if your needs assessment shows you need it, whatever your age, income, savings or relationship status, and nursing care at home from the NHS is free. Councils can charge for other help, such as housework, shopping and making beds, after a financial assessment of your savings and income, and charges vary by council. You can refuse a financial assessment, but then you pay the full cost of the services arranged for you.

In Northern Ireland, your HSC trust assesses you. The Department of Health's home help circular, republished in 2015, says home help is free for people aged 75 or over and for people on certain means-tested benefits, with charges for others assessed under the trust's scheme. nidirect says there's normally a charge for meals at home. Ask your trust for its current charges in writing.

*Care at home: charging rules by nation, 2026/27 (checked 25 September 2026)*

| Nation | Is personal care free? | Maximum weekly charge | Savings limit used for charging |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| England | No, means-tested | No national maximum; councils may set one | At least £23,250 upper and £14,250 lower; councils can set higher |
| Wales | No, means-tested | £100 | £24,000, not counting your home |
| Scotland | Yes, if your assessment shows you need it | Set by each council for other services | Set by each council; mygov.scot doesn't give a national figure |
| Northern Ireland | Home help is free if you're 75 or over or on certain benefits | Not published on nidirect | Not published on nidirect |

## Can you arrange your own care with direct payments?

Yes. If you've been assessed as needing care and support, you can ask for direct payments: money from the council, or the HSC trust in Northern Ireland, to buy the services in your care plan yourself instead of having them arranged for you. GOV.UK says direct payments are available in England, Scotland and Wales and that you must be over 16; nidirect explains the Northern Ireland scheme, where you must be able to consent to and manage them, even if you need help to do so.

You can use direct payments to employ a personal assistant, in which case you become an employer, with the responsibilities that brings. In Scotland they're one of the options under self-directed support. In England direct payments are ignored as income in the financial assessment, and nidirect says they don't affect other benefits in Northern Ireland.

## Which benefits can help pay for care at home?

Attendance Allowance is the main one for people over State Pension age. It isn't means-tested and in 2026/27 is £76.70 a week at the lower rate or £114.60 at the higher rate. GOV.UK says getting it could mean extra Pension Credit, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. In Scotland you apply for Pension Age Disability Payment instead. Our [Attendance Allowance guide](/benefits-tax/attendance-allowance-explained/) and [eligibility checker](/eligible-for/attendance-allowance/) explain who qualifies.

Before a financial assessment, check the person gets everything they're entitled to, such as [Pension Credit](/answers/what-is-pension-credit/) and [Council Tax Reduction](/answers/what-is-council-tax-reduction/). A family member caring for at least 35 hours a week may qualify for [Carer's Allowance](/benefits-tax/carers-allowance-explained/), which is £86.45 a week in 2026/27; in Scotland it's Carer Support Payment.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I have to sell my home to pay for care at home?

No. When you get care at home, the value of the home you live in isn't counted in the council's financial assessment in England, and Wales's £24,000 savings limit for home care also leaves out your home. Your main home generally only comes into the means test if you move into a care home permanently.

### Can the council charge for a needs assessment?

No. In England councils can't charge for assessing your needs or planning your care, because those don't count as meeting needs. You only pay, after a financial assessment, for services arranged to meet your eligible needs.

### Is Attendance Allowance counted as income for home care charges?

In England it can be. Councils may count Attendance Allowance and the daily living part of PIP, but should then allow for your disability-related expenditure and must leave you with at least the minimum income guarantee. The mobility parts of PIP and DLA are always ignored.

### Is reablement after a hospital stay free?

In England, yes, for up to 6 weeks. Intermediate care, including reablement, must be provided free for up to 6 weeks, and councils can choose to keep it free for longer where there's a clear preventative benefit.

### What can I do if I think my home care charge is wrong?

Ask the council for the written record of your financial assessment, check the figures and the disability-related expenditure it allowed, and ask for a review, with receipts for any extra costs. If that doesn't resolve it, use the council's complaints procedure. Government guidance in Wales and Scotland also says you can ask the council to review a charge.

## Primary source

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-charging-for-local-authorities-2026-to-2027/social-care-charging-for-care-and-support-2026-to-2027-local-authority-circular, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance, https://www.gov.wales/charging-social-care, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/313/regulation/2, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/25, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/12, https://www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services, https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance/what-youll-get, https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance, https://www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/what-youll-get, https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance, https://www.gov.uk/apply-direct-payments, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1843/regulation/7, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1843/regulation/11, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1843/regulation/12, https://www.gov.wales/written-statement-raising-weekly-maximum-charge-adult-non-residential-care-and-support, https://www.mygov.scot/personal-nursing-care/costs, https://www.mygov.scot/financial-assessments-care, https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/home-help-and-domiciliary-care-guidance, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/arranging-health-and-social-care, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/direct-payments-care

## Related

- [NHS continuing healthcare: who qualifies](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/nhs-continuing-healthcare/)
- [Attendance Allowance explained](https://moneyguide.org.uk/benefits-tax/attendance-allowance-explained/)
- [Am I eligible for Attendance Allowance?](https://moneyguide.org.uk/eligible-for/attendance-allowance/)
- [Carer's Allowance explained](https://moneyguide.org.uk/benefits-tax/carers-allowance-explained/)
- [Care home funding options](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-home-funding-options/)
- [Care home costs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-costs-scotland-wales-northern-ireland/)

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Independent UK money guidance from [Money Guide](https://moneyguide.org.uk). Information only — not regulated financial advice.