Home care charge calculator

Before you start: what to gather

• Award letters or bank statements showing the weekly State Pension, other pensions and benefits: Attendance Allowance, PIP daily living or DLA care, Pension Credit, Carer's Allowance.
• Statements for savings and investments: bank and building society accounts, ISAs, Premium Bonds, shares. Not the home you live in.
• The rent or mortgage statement, and the council tax bill after any discount or Council Tax Reduction.
• Receipts or estimates for extra costs caused by illness or disability: heating, laundry, a community alarm, a special diet, equipment, care you pay for privately.
• The council's letter about the cost of your care, if you have one.
• Monthly amounts: multiply by 12 and divide by 52. Four-weekly amounts: divide by 4.

The rules this calculator uses

• Savings: above £23,250, you usually pay the full cost. Between £14,250 and £23,250, the council adds £1 a week of "tariff income" for every £250, or part of £250, above £14,250: £18,100 is £3,850 above, so £16 a week. Below £14,250, savings are ignored. Your home is not counted for care at home.
• Minimum income guarantee (2026/27, weekly): £241.45 single at Pension Credit age; £184.30 each for a couple where one or both are at Pension Credit age; £120.40 single aged 25 to Pension Credit age, plus any disability premium (£51.55), enhanced disability premium (£25.15) and carer premium (£55.25). Other households have different amounts: see our financial assessment guide.
• Income counted: pensions and most benefits, including Attendance Allowance, PIP daily living and DLA care. Ignored: earnings, the mobility part of PIP or DLA, Pension Credit Savings Credit, Winter Fuel Payment and some others.
• The charge: income counted plus tariff income, less the minimum income guarantee, housing costs and disability-related expenses. It is never below £0 and never more than the cost of your care.
• Depends on your council: some councils ignore the night-time part of Attendance Allowance (£37.90 a week) when they fund no care at night; the national guidance does not require it. Councils also differ on adding premiums at Pension Credit age, and decide how much disability-related expenditure they accept. The calculator shows these separately, beside the estimate.
• Not covered yet: single people aged 18 to 24, couples where both are under Pension Credit age, and households with a dependent child. Care home charges follow different rules.

What the council must and must not do

• It must not count the value of the home you live in when you receive care at home.
• It must leave you at least the minimum income guarantee, plus your housing costs.
• It must allow for disability-related expenses. Ask how your council does this: some use a flat allowance, others an individual assessment. Read our guide to disability-related expenses.
• It cannot charge more than the actual cost of your care.
• It must give you the financial assessment in writing. Use this estimate to check it, and ask for a review if the figures differ.

An estimate based on the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 and the 2026/27 figures in the council charging circular (source) and on GOV.UK (Attendance Allowance rates), checked 30 October 2026. Councils' policies differ in some details; only your council's written assessment is final. Information, not financial advice.