If you spend a large part of your week looking after someone, you may be entitled to Carer's Allowance, the main benefit for unpaid carers. It recognises the work that millions of people do caring for a family member, partner or friend. This guide explains who can claim Carer's Allowance, the 2026/27 rate, the rules you need to meet, and the important things to check before you claim.

What is Carer's Allowance?

Carer's Allowance is a weekly benefit for people who provide regular, substantial care to someone with a disability or health condition. It is not means-tested in the usual sense, so your savings do not matter, but it does have an earnings limit, and it is taxable. For 2026/27 it is worth £86.45 a week, which is around £4,495 a year. It can be paid weekly or every four weeks.

Who can claim

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

  • You are aged 16 or over.
  • You spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone.
  • The person you care for gets a qualifying disability benefit.
  • You earn no more than £204 a week after certain deductions.
  • You are not in full-time education of 21 hours or more a week.
  • You meet the residence and presence rules in the UK.

You do not have to be related to, or live with, the person you care for.

Which benefits the cared-for person must get

The person you look after must receive a qualifying disability benefit. These include the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment at either rate, the middle or highest care rate of Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Adult Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, and certain Constant Attendance Allowance rates. If the person you care for does not yet have one of these, it is often worth helping them check whether they could claim, as it can open the door to your Carer's Allowance.

The 35-hours rule

The 35 hours a week can include a wide range of caring tasks, not just personal care. Helping with washing, dressing and meals counts, but so does help with shopping, cooking, managing medication, taking someone to appointments, and supervision to keep them safe. The hours must be for one person, as you cannot add together time spent caring for different people to reach 35 hours for Carer's Allowance.

The earnings limit

You can work and claim Carer's Allowance, but only if your earnings are no more than £204 a week after tax, National Insurance, half of any pension contributions and certain expenses. This is a strict cut-off: earning even slightly over the limit means losing all of your Carer's Allowance for that week, not just part of it. Because of this, it is important to track your earnings carefully, especially if your hours or pay vary. Our separate guide covers the earnings limit in detail.

The trap to check before you claim

There is an important catch. If the person you care for receives a severe disability premium or addition within their own benefits, claiming Carer's Allowance can cause them to lose it, because you cannot usually both benefit at once. This could leave the household worse off overall. So before you claim, check what the person you care for receives, and get a benefits check if you are unsure, to make sure claiming is the right move for your household as a whole.

National Insurance credits

One valuable feature of Carer's Allowance is that it usually comes with National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension. This protects your future pension during years when you are caring rather than working. For many carers, especially those who give up paid work, this long-term protection is one of the most important benefits of claiming, alongside the weekly payment itself.

Carer's Allowance and your other benefits

Carer's Allowance counts as income for means-tested benefits, so if you also receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit, your Carer's Allowance may reduce those payments, although a carer's addition or element is usually included to recognise your caring role. If you are on Universal Credit, you may be better off through the carer element without claiming Carer's Allowance at all, which our separate guide explains.

If you live in Scotland

In Scotland, Carer's Allowance has been replaced by Carer Support Payment, delivered by Social Security Scotland. It pays the same £86.45 a week, with an automatic Scottish Carer Supplement of £11.70 a week on top, and has some more generous rules, such as allowing certain full-time students to claim. If you live in Scotland, you apply for Carer Support Payment rather than Carer's Allowance.

A carer's assessment

Separately from Carer's Allowance, you have the right to a carer's assessment from your local council, which looks at your own needs as a carer and what support might help you, such as a break from caring or practical help. This is not means-tested to have, and it is worth asking for, because caring can take a toll and there may be support available that you do not know about. It is a useful step alongside claiming Carer's Allowance.

Breaks from caring

You can usually keep Carer's Allowance through short breaks in your caring, for example if you or the person you care for goes into hospital for a limited period, within the rules. This recognises that caring is not always unbroken. However, longer breaks, or the person you care for being in hospital or a care home beyond a set period, can affect your entitlement, so report any significant break and check how it affects you.

Why it is worth claiming

Even though Carer's Allowance is modest and can interact with other benefits, it is usually worth claiming for the recognition, the National Insurance credits, and the access it can give to other carer support. For many carers it is also a gateway to a carer's addition in Pension Credit or the carer element in Universal Credit. The key is to check your whole position first, so you claim in the way that leaves your household best off.

Caring can be intense work

It is worth remembering that Carer's Allowance, modest as it is, recognises a role that can be physically and emotionally demanding and that saves the country a great deal. Looking after your own wellbeing matters too, and support such as carers' groups, respite breaks and a carer's assessment can all help. Claiming what you are entitled to, and accepting support, is not a sign of failing to cope; it is a sensible part of sustaining your caring role over time.

A small payment that opens doors

Although Carer's Allowance is a modest weekly sum, its real value often lies in what it leads to: National Insurance protection for your pension, a carer's addition in other benefits, and recognition that can unlock further support. For that reason, it is worth treating it as a starting point and checking what else you and the person you care for may be entitled to once it is in place.

Where to get help

Free help to check whether you should claim, and to make sure it does not leave your household worse off, is available from Citizens Advice, Carers UK and local carers' centres. For the detail of the rules, see our guides to the earnings limit and how to claim.

Related guides: Carer Support Payment in Scotland, Carer's Allowance and the State Pension overlap, carer's assessments and council support, Carer's Credit, boosting the benefits of the person you care for and young carers and benefits.