Carer's Allowance Calculator

Carer's Allowance is £83.30 a week for 2025/26. To qualify you must:

• Care for someone at least 35 hours a week.
• Earn no more than £196 a week after tax, NI and allowable deductions.
• Care for someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit (PIP daily living, DLA middle/higher care, Attendance Allowance and similar).
• Not be in full-time education (21+ hours a week).

The £196 limit is a hard cliff edge: earn £1 over and you lose the entire £83.30, not a tapered amount. You can reduce your countable earnings with allowable deductions — notably half of your pension contributions and some care costs that let you work. Watch this limit carefully around pay rises and bonuses.

Carer's Allowance overlaps with some other benefits. If you receive the State Pension or contributory benefits at the same or higher rate, you may not actually be paid the Carer's Allowance — though an "underlying entitlement" can still increase means-tested benefits like Pension Credit or Universal Credit's carer element.

Someone caring 40 hours a week for a parent on PIP daily living, earning £180 a week after tax with £10 of allowable pension deductions, has countable earnings of £170 — under the £196 limit. They qualify for the full £83.30 a week, about £4,332 a year, which is taxable.

• Breaching the earnings limit. It is a cliff edge — a small overshoot loses the whole payment and can create an overpayment.
• Not claiming underlying entitlement. Even if overlapping benefits stop the payment, the entitlement can boost means-tested benefits.
• Forgetting it is taxable. Carer's Allowance counts as taxable income, which can matter alongside other earnings.
• Affecting the cared-for person. Your claim can sometimes reduce a severe disability premium the person you care for receives — check first.