Carer's Allowance vs Carer Support Payment

If you care for someone at least 35 hours a week and they get certain disability benefits, you may be able to claim £86.45 a week. Which benefit you claim depends on where you live. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, it is Carer's Allowance, paid by the Department for Work and Pensions. In Scotland, Carer's Allowance has been replaced by Carer Support Payment, paid by Social Security Scotland¹.

The two payments pay the same rate and have the same earnings limit. Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week from 7 April 2026, and Carer Support Payment is also £86.45 a week¹. The earnings limit is £204 a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses⁴. You can claim either one alongside Universal Credit, but Carer's Allowance counts in full as income when your Universal Credit is worked out, so it reduces your Universal Credit⁶.

This page sets out what each payment is, who it is paid to, the earnings limit, how it interacts with Universal Credit, what happens with overpayments, and where to get help.

Carer Support Payment replaces Carer's Allowance in Scotland

Carer Support Payment has replaced Carer's Allowance for most carers in Scotland⁸. If you live in Scotland, you must apply for Carer Support Payment instead of Carer's Allowance¹⁰. It is administered by Social Security Scotland, not the DWP¹¹.

The replacement happened in April 2026, when Carer Support Payment became available across Scotland¹². The Carer's Allowance Supplement was replaced with the Scottish Carer Supplement for carers in receipt of Carer Support Payment³. Personal Independence Payment, Carer's Allowance and Attendance Allowance will eventually be fully replaced in Scotland by Adult Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment respectively, all administered by Social Security Scotland¹³.

The rate and rules are largely the same. Carer Support Payment is £86.45 a week, the same as Carer's Allowance³. The earnings limit is also £204 a week⁴. The overpayment rules are the same currently⁹. If you move to Scotland and were getting Carer's Allowance at the time of your move, you can apply for Carer Support Payment¹⁴.

For carers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, nothing has changed. Carer's Allowance is still paid by the DWP, and the rate is £86.45 a week from 7 April 2026¹. The DWP's own statistics exclude figures for Scotland because Carer Support Payment is administered separately¹¹.

Carer's Allowance: £86.45 a week, paid to the carer

Carer's Allowance is £86.45 a week from 7 April 2026¹. Carer Support Payment is also £86.45 a week³. The payment is made to the carer, not the person being cared for, ensuring that income goes to them¹⁵.

To qualify, you must care for someone at least 35 hours a week who gets certain disability benefits¹⁶. The person you look after should be getting Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (high or middle rate of the care component), Personal Independence Payment (daily living component), or Armed Forces Independence Payment¹⁷. In Scotland, the person you care for must get Child Disability Payment at the middle or highest care rate or Adult Disability Payment daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate¹⁸.

You do not have to be related to the person you care for or live with them¹⁶. However, only one carer can get Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment for the same person¹⁹. If you and someone else care for the same person, only one of you can get Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment¹⁹. If there is more than one carer, the main carer should apply²⁰.

Carer's Allowance is not based on your income or savings, but your earnings may affect your entitlement¹⁸. It is a taxable benefit, and taxable income such as pensions or part-time earnings must be reported to the tax office⁵. You will have to pay tax on Carer's Allowance if your income is over your Personal Allowance²¹.

Earnings limit: £204 a week

The earnings limit for Carer's Allowance is £204 a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses⁴. This increased from £196 a week from 6 April 2026²². The limit applies to your earnings in the immediately preceding week²².

For Carer Support Payment, the earnings limit is also £204 per week²³. The carer must earn less than £204 per week after tax, National Insurance and expenses⁴.

Certain deductions apply. Payments for someone to look after the person you care for or a child under 16 can be deducted up to the value of half your earnings, unless paid to a close relative⁵. Your partner's earnings are ignored²⁴.

If you are a part-time student, student loans, grants or bursaries should not affect Carer's Allowance²⁵. You can claim Carer's Allowance if you are a part-time student studying for less than 21 hours a week²⁵. You cannot get Carer's Allowance if you are in full-time education or studying for 21 hours a week or more¹⁰. Full-time students cannot get Carer Support Payment²⁶.

Carer's Allowance and the Universal Credit carer element

You can usually claim Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance at the same time if you meet the eligibility rules for both¹⁰. They are two separate things, and your carer can claim both at the same time⁶. However, Carer's Allowance counts in full as income when Universal Credit is calculated, so it will be deducted from your Universal Credit⁶.

The carer element of Universal Credit is an extra payment added to the carer's standard allowance⁶. You do not have to claim Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment to get this element²⁷. Your level of earnings does not prevent you from claiming the carer's element, unlike Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment²⁷.

You will receive a carer element if you are eligible for Carer's Allowance or if the only thing that stops you from qualifying is earnings being too high²⁸. It is sufficient to meet the normal Carer's Allowance rules other than the earnings limit²⁸. If you declare yourself as a carer on your Universal Credit claim, even if you do not get Carer's Allowance, your indicative Universal Credit award will include an additional payment²⁹.

Universal Credit is paid every month, which differs from Carer's Allowance paid every 4 weeks⁶. If your Carer's Allowance stops due to the person you look after being in hospital and you are claiming Universal Credit, the carer element within your Universal Credit will also stop³⁰.

Where two people each provide at least 35 hours a week care to the same disabled child, only one can get Carer Support Payment, Carer's Allowance or the Universal Credit carer element for that child²³. No individual can be entitled to Carer Support Payment in respect of a cared for person where another individual is entitled to Carer's Allowance, or the carer element of Universal Credit, in respect of that cared for person³².

You will be exempt from the benefit cap if you are receiving Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment, the underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance, or a Carer Element within Universal Credit³³.

Overpayments and the DWP reassessment

If you are overpaid a benefit like Carer's Allowance when you are no longer eligible, you will lose the entire amount and will be asked to pay it back⁹. This is called an overpayment, and you would receive a notification requiring you to pay it back by the DWP⁸. If DWP overpay you, they may claim it back by taking some money off your Carer's Allowance payments³⁴.

A reassessment exercise for overpayments caused by the averaging of fluctuating earnings began on 13 April 2026 and will take up to three years⁹. The DWP estimates that 25,000 people may see adjustments to their overpayment as a result of this review³⁵. Money already paid by carers to settle these overpayments could be refunded and the amount of the debt reduced or written off³⁶.

When your benefit moves over to Carer Support Payment, DWP will arrange with you if you need to repay an overpayment³⁴. In Scotland, Carer Support Payment has replaced Carer's Allowance, but the overpayment rules are the same currently⁹.

DWP benefit overpayments cover most other DWP benefits including Income Support, JSA (not New Style), ESA (not New Style), Carer's Allowance, PIP and DLA³⁷. Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance cannot have deductions for overpayments, other than overpayments of Child Benefit or Guardian's Allowance³⁸.

Help and advice for carers

Carer Support Payment is money to help you if you're a carer³⁹. It is an income replacement benefit, so it cannot be paid in full at the same time as other income replacement benefits⁴⁰. Where the carer is also getting an overlapping benefit, the amount of Carer Support Payment should be reduced by the amount of the overlapping benefit⁴⁰.

Carer's Allowance cannot be paid at the same time as certain other non-means-tested benefits, including contributory Employment and Support Allowance and State Pension⁴¹. Carer Support Payment has the same rule²³. Other overlapping benefits include State Pension, Maternity Allowance, contributory Employment and Support Allowance, contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Widows' Benefits and Bereavement Benefits or Incapacity Benefit⁴².

A carer whose award is calculated at £0 because of an overlapping benefit has underlying entitlement and is not entitled to be paid any of the other components of Carer Support⁴⁰. Any amount of Carer Support Payment that is in excess of the amount the claimant would receive if they had an entitlement to Carer's Allowance is disregarded in income calculations for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, State Pension Credit and the Northern Ireland equivalents⁴³.

Carer's Allowance may affect other benefits you get, such as Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, State Pension and Pension Credit¹⁸. Claiming may also affect some of the benefits the cared-for person receives, for example losing a Severe Disability Premium from their Housing Benefit, and they might also stop getting a reduction in their council tax⁴⁴.

For free, impartial help, you can contact Carers UK, Turn2us, or MoneyHelper. You can also use the benefits calculator to check what you might be entitled to.