How much is Carer’s Allowance?

£81.90 a week in 2025-26. It is paid weekly in advance or every four weeks in arrears, depending on how you set up the payment. It is taxable but not means-tested beyond the earnings cap. Scotland has a top-up called Carer Support Payment (equivalent to CA with a small Carer’s Allowance Supplement paid twice yearly).

What counts as the 35 hours of care?

Hands-on personal care (help with washing, dressing, toileting, medication), supervision needed because of the person’s condition, cooking and shopping for them, accompanying them to appointments, household tasks they cannot do themselves, and — crucially — time spent on call and available for care counts if that availability is necessary. It does not include time in full-time education (21+ hours a week of supervised study).

What’s the £196 earnings cap?

From April 2024, you can earn up to £196 a week (net, after tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and half of childcare costs) and still keep Carer’s Allowance. If your earnings go even £1 over, you lose the entire week’s CA. Earnings are from employment or self-employment — State Pension, private pensions, dividends, and rental income are not earnings for this test.

What happens if I go over the cap by a small amount?

You lose the whole week’s CA — £81.90 gone for earning £1 more than £196. This is known as the "cliff edge". DWP is supposed to notify you and can demand repayment of any CA paid for weeks you were over the cap. In 2024 a large overpayment scandal made it clear that DWP had not been warning claimants of the cliff edge. Report changes in earnings promptly to avoid building up an overpayment debt.

Does CA affect my Universal Credit?

Yes. CA is counted as income that reduces UC £-for-£. But UC also adds a carer element of £201.68/month when CA is in payment (or when you would meet CA conditions but don’t claim because of the overlapping-benefits rule with State Pension). Net effect: in most cases you gain from claiming CA even while on UC, because the carer element exceeds the £-for-£ deduction once a small top-up is factored in.

Can I claim CA if I get State Pension?

State Pension and Carer’s Allowance overlap — you usually cannot get both in full. If State Pension is more than CA (which it usually is), you get only State Pension. However, "underlying entitlement" to CA can still give you access to the pensioner-carer premium on Pension Credit, the UC carer element, and other carer-passported help. Always apply even if you won’t be paid CA in cash.

How does CA interact with the benefit cap?

Receiving CA (or having underlying entitlement to CA) exempts the household from the benefit cap. This exemption was added in April 2017 and is valuable for carers of a disabled child or adult on a qualifying benefit. The cap exemption applies to the whole household, not just the carer.

Guide

Carer’s Allowance: the 35-hour rule, the £196 earnings cap, and how it interacts with other benefits

Carer’s Allowance is £81.90 a week in 2025-26 — modest, but it opens access to a UC carer element, Carer’s Credit for the State Pension, and in some cases an exemption from the benefit cap. The 35-hour rule and the £196 weekly earnings cap are strict; crossing the cap even by £1 removes the whole week’s CA. This guide explains the rules and the practical pitfalls.

Last updated April 2026

Carer's Allowance (CA) is the main benefit for unpaid carers in the UK. The headline figure is modest — £81.90 a week in 2025-26 — but it is a gateway to other entitlements: the UC carer element, Carer's Credit for State Pension purposes, the pensioner-carer premium on Pension Credit, and exemption from the benefit cap. Despite its value, it has stringent conditions that have caused a lot of distress: a 35-hour-a-week care rule, a £196 earnings cap with a cliff edge, and a full-time study exclusion.

This guide covers each rule in detail, explains the 2024 overpayment scandal, and sets out how CA interacts with UC, State Pension, and other benefits. Primary-source note: CA is in the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and Social Security (Invalid Care Allowance) Regulations 1976 (yes, still named for ICA — CA was renamed in 2003). Verify specific rules against GOV.UK Carer's Allowance guidance.

Who can claim Carer’s Allowance

You must meet all of the following:

Be aged 16 or over.
Care at least 35 hours a week for a disabled person.
The person you care for receives a qualifying disability benefit: Attendance Allowance, DLA middle/highest-rate care, CDP middle/highest-rate care, PIP daily living component, Adult Disability Payment daily living, Armed Forces Independence Payment, or Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate.
You are not in full-time education (21+ hours a week of supervised study).
You earn no more than £196 a week after deductions (the earnings cap).
You normally live in Great Britain (or Northern Ireland, which pays CA through the Department for Communities); specific rules apply for EEA nationals and for carers temporarily abroad.

The 35-hour rule

You need to be caring at least 35 hours a week. DWP takes a broad view of what "care" is, and the hours can include:

Personal care: washing, dressing, toileting, feeding.
Supervision and prompting (for example, with dementia or mental health conditions).
Medication management.
Cooking and shopping for the person.
Attending medical appointments together.
Household tasks that the person cannot do themselves.
Time spent "on call" and available when the person's condition means they might need you at any point.

The 35 hours can be spread unevenly across the week — 3 hours every morning and 20 hours of on-call availability over the weekend, for example. What matters is the total. Time in hospital (when they are an in-patient) does not count; time caring for them at home before and after an admission does.

You cannot split the 35 hours across two people. You can only claim CA for caring for one person at a time.

The £196 earnings cap — and the cliff edge

The earnings limit is £196 a week, net of:

Income tax.
National Insurance (Class 1 employee or Class 4 self-employed).
Pension contributions (up to 50% of gross pay).
Half of any childcare costs paid to a registered provider for your own children.

If you earn £196.01 (net) in a week, you lose the whole £81.90 of CA for that week. There is no taper — this is a cliff edge.

Self-employed earnings

For self-employed carers, earnings are calculated as trading profit for the period — usually pro-rated from your self-assessment return or, if you have no return yet, an estimated weekly figure. The same £196 cap applies.

The 2024 overpayment scandal

A series of press investigations and National Audit Office work in 2023–24 found that over 100,000 carers had built up overpayments of CA — some reaching tens of thousands of pounds — because their earnings had gradually drifted above £196/week, DWP had not warned them, and they had no way of knowing they were being overpaid. The main triggers were:

Pay rises that took weekly pay over £196 after deductions.
Extra shifts in a particular week.
Occupational pension receipts that were wrongly categorised as earnings.
Annual bonus weeks where the bonus spike was not smoothed.

DWP has committed to better real-time monitoring, but in the interim report earnings changes yourself — via the CA helpline or the online form — as soon as they happen. If you have been overpaid, seek advice immediately: Citizens Advice, Carers UK, or a local welfare-rights service can help negotiate a repayment plan or challenge the decision if DWP didn't handle notification properly.

The full-time education rule

You cannot claim CA if you are in "full-time education" — defined as 21+ hours a week of supervised study. This includes:

University degrees (undergraduate or postgraduate).
Most A-level programmes.
Some full-time further education courses.

It does not include:

Part-time courses (under 21 hours a week).
Distance learning where there is no supervised study requirement.
Most online CPD or short courses.

How CA interacts with other benefits

Universal Credit

CA is treated as income and reduces UC £-for-£. However, a carer element of £201.68/month (2025-26) is added to UC whenever CA is in payment (or when you have underlying entitlement to CA). The carer element is larger than the monthly CA equivalent, so in most cases you gain from claiming CA on top of UC.

State Pension

State Pension is an "overlapping benefit" with CA. You cannot normally receive both in full. If State Pension is higher than CA (which it almost always is), you get only State Pension. But you may have underlying entitlement to CA — this is not paid in cash but still acts as a gateway to:

The Carer Premium on Pension Credit.
The Carer Addition on Housing Benefit (pension-age).
The carer element on UC.
Benefit cap exemption.

Always apply for CA even if you are over State Pension age and will not receive it in cash. Record the underlying entitlement.

Carer’s Credit

Carer's Credit is a National Insurance credit for carers who provide 20+ hours of care a week. It protects your State Pension entitlement for years you aren't working or are working part-time. You qualify automatically if you receive CA; if you care for 20–34 hours a week (and so fall short of CA), you can apply for Carer's Credit directly.

Pension Credit (Carer Premium)

If you are over State Pension age and have underlying entitlement to CA, you qualify for the Carer Premium on Pension Credit — an extra £46.40/week (2025-26). For couples where both partners qualify as carers, two premiums can be paid.

Benefit cap exemption

A household is exempt from the benefit cap if anyone in the household receives CA or has underlying entitlement to CA. See our benefit-cap guide.

Worked examples

Example 1: Helen, caring for her mother, working part-time.

Helen, 48, cares for her mother (who has Alzheimer's and receives Attendance Allowance higher rate). Helen works 18 hours a week in a bakery at £12.21/hour — gross £219.78. After tax and NI deductions, her net weekly pay is about £189. She also pays £20 a week into a pension.

Net earnings for the CA test: £189 − £20 pension = £169.
Under the £196 cap → CA is paid in full.
CA claimed: £81.90/week.
Carer's Credit is awarded automatically.

If Helen were offered a 20-hour contract (4 extra hours a week, ~£49 gross → ~£42 net), her net earnings would rise to about £211 — over the cap. She would lose the full CA (£81.90/week) for every week the higher pay applied. She would need to either keep hours at 18, increase pension contributions to bring net pay back under £196, or accept losing CA.

Example 2: Marcus, over State Pension age, caring for his wife.

Marcus is 68, receives the full new State Pension (~£230/week), and cares for his wife who has PIP enhanced daily living. He doesn't claim CA because he knows he won't be paid it. Result: he misses out on the Carer Premium (£46.40/week) on their Pension Credit award.

He applies for CA and records underlying entitlement. His State Pension continues; no cash CA is paid. But now Pension Credit includes the Carer Premium (£46.40/week = ~£2,413/year), and their housing benefit award adjusts slightly. Key lesson: apply for CA even if you are pension-age. Underlying entitlement is the money here.

Nation-specific notes

In Scotland, Carer's Allowance has been replaced by Carer Support Payment delivered by Social Security Scotland, paying the same weekly rate. In addition, a Carer's Allowance Supplement (£288.60 twice yearly in 2025) is paid automatically to carers on CSP in Scotland. Young Carer Grant (£367.65, for carers aged 16–18) is another Scottish-only scheme.

In Wales, Carer's Allowance is administered by DWP as in England. Some local councils in Wales run local carer payment schemes alongside.

In Northern Ireland, CA is administered by the Department for Communities. Rates are the same.

What to do

Confirm the person you care for is on a qualifying disability benefit (AA/DLA/CDP/PIP/ADP at the right rate). If not, consider whether they can claim one.
Work out whether your hours of care reach 35+ a week. Count hands-on time, supervision, and on-call availability.
Check your weekly earnings. If you are close to the £196 cap, consider pension contributions or reviewing hours to stay safely below.
Apply for Carer's Allowance on the GOV.UK form (or mygov.scot for Carer Support Payment). If you are over State Pension age, apply anyway to record underlying entitlement.
Tell your local council — many councils offer a council tax discount for carers in certain circumstances.
Ensure your UC claim reflects the carer element once CA is awarded. Ensure the benefit cap is marked as exempt.
Report any increase in earnings or hours of care immediately via the CA helpline to avoid an overpayment.

Primary sources

Last reviewed April 2026. Rates and the earnings cap are uprated each April. Verify the current figures against GOV.UK or mygov.scot before relying on them. Due to You does not provide personalised advice; speak to Carers UK, Citizens Advice, or a local welfare-rights service for one-to-one help, particularly if you are worried about an overpayment.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Carer’s Allowance?: £81.90 a week in 2025-26. It is paid weekly in advance or every four weeks in arrears, depending on how you set up the payment. It is taxable but not means-tested beyond the earnings cap. Scotland has a top-up called Carer Support Payment (equivalent to CA with a small Carer’s Allowance Supplement paid twice yearly).
What counts as the 35 hours of care?: Hands-on personal care (help with washing, dressing, toileting, medication), supervision needed because of the person’s condition, cooking and shopping for them, accompanying them to appointments, household tasks they cannot do themselves, and — crucially — time spent on call and available for care counts if that availability is necessary. It does not include time in full-time education (21+ hours a week of supervised study).
What’s the £196 earnings cap?: From April 2024, you can earn up to £196 a week (net, after tax, National Insurance, pension contributions, and half of childcare costs) and still keep Carer’s Allowance. If your earnings go even £1 over, you lose the entire week’s CA. Earnings are from employment or self-employment — State Pension, private pensions, dividends, and rental income are not earnings for this test.
What happens if I go over the cap by a small amount?: You lose the whole week’s CA — £81.90 gone for earning £1 more than £196. This is known as the "cliff edge". DWP is supposed to notify you and can demand repayment of any CA paid for weeks you were over the cap. In 2024 a large overpayment scandal made it clear that DWP had not been warning claimants of the cliff edge. Report changes in earnings promptly to avoid building up an overpayment debt.
Does CA affect my Universal Credit?: Yes. CA is counted as income that reduces UC £-for-£. But UC also adds a carer element of £201.68/month when CA is in payment (or when you would meet CA conditions but don’t claim because of the overlapping-benefits rule with State Pension). Net effect: in most cases you gain from claiming CA even while on UC, because the carer element exceeds the £-for-£ deduction once a small top-up is factored in.
Can I claim CA if I get State Pension?: State Pension and Carer’s Allowance overlap — you usually cannot get both in full. If State Pension is more than CA (which it usually is), you get only State Pension. However, "underlying entitlement" to CA can still give you access to the pensioner-carer premium on Pension Credit, the UC carer element, and other carer-passported help. Always apply even if you won’t be paid CA in cash.
How does CA interact with the benefit cap?: Receiving CA (or having underlying entitlement to CA) exempts the household from the benefit cap. This exemption was added in April 2017 and is valuable for carers of a disabled child or adult on a qualifying benefit. The cap exemption applies to the whole household, not just the carer.

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