Paying for care: the savings limits and when to contact the council

A few terms first

• Capital means savings, investments and, in some cases, property.
• The financial assessment, often called the means test, is the council’s check of capital and income to work out what the person pays towards their care. In Northern Ireland the local Health and Social Care Trust does this.
• The upper and lower limits are the capital amounts that decide whether the person pays in full, pays a share or gets the most help.

The capital limits for 2026/27

Care funding is run separately in each nation, so the limits differ.

Nation	Upper limit	Lower limit	Points to know
England	£23,250	£14,250	Unchanged for 2026/27. Councils may set higher limits for care at home.
Scotland	£36,750	£22,750	From 6 April 2026, for care home charges. Charges for care at home are set by each council.
Wales	£50,000 (care homes)	No separate lower limit	One limit, so there is no tariff income for care homes. For care at home, the figure is £24,000 in savings, not counting the home, and the most anyone pays is £100 a week.
Northern Ireland	£23,250	£14,250	Unchanged for 2026/27. Care at home is generally not charged for.

In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland the rule works like this. Above the upper limit, the person usually pays the full cost. Below the lower limit, capital is ignored and only income is looked at. In between, the person pays from their income plus an extra amount called tariff income.

Tariff income

When capital is between the two limits, the council treats it as if it produces income, whether or not it really does. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, for 2026/27, this is £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250, above the lower limit.

An example in England: someone has £20,000 in savings. That is £5,750 above the £14,250 lower limit. £5,750 divided by £250 is 23, so the council counts £23 a week as extra income. As savings fall, the tariff income falls too.

When the council helps pay for a care home, the person keeps a small weekly amount for personal items. For 2026/27 this Personal Expenses Allowance is £31.80 a week in England, £37.65 in Scotland and £36.62 in Northern Ireland. In Wales the equivalent, the Minimum Income Amount, is £46.35 a week.

When the home counts, and when it does not

The person’s main home is not counted while they receive care at home, or during a temporary stay in a care home. After a permanent move into a care home, it is still not counted if certain people live there, including:

• a husband, wife or partner
• a relative aged 60 or over
• a relative who is disabled
• a child under 18 whom the person supports

These people are often called qualifying relatives. The council can also choose to ignore the home in other cases, for example where a carer gave up their own home to live there. The exact wording differs slightly between the nations, so check the rules for where the person lives.

The 12-week property disregard

If the home would count, its value is ignored for the first 12 weeks after a permanent move into a care home. This is called the 12-week property disregard. It only helps if the person’s other capital is below the upper limit. During those weeks the council helps with fees based on their other capital and income. In England, the council can also allow a further 12 weeks if the person’s finances change unexpectedly.

When the home does count, the council does not use its full market value. It takes off 10% for the cost of selling, and any mortgage or loan secured on it.

Deferred payment agreements

A deferred payment agreement is a loan from the council, secured on the home. The council pays some or all of the care home fees, and is repaid later, usually when the home is sold or from the estate after death. Interest and set-up charges are added, so the amount owed grows. Councils in England and Wales must offer them to people who qualify. Councils in Scotland can also agree to defer payment, secured on the home. Northern Ireland has no formal deferred payment scheme, so ask the Health and Social Care Trust what options there are. Because the home is involved, you may want to speak to a solicitor or a regulated care fees adviser before signing.

Why contacting the council early matters

Council help usually starts from the date someone asks for it, not from the date savings fell. Funding is generally not backdated. If savings drop below the upper limit and nobody tells the council, the person may keep paying full fees for months.

Assessments take time. The NHS website suggests contacting the council about three months before savings are likely to fall below the upper limit, so the financial assessment can be done in time.

To know when that will be, you need a rough idea of how fast savings are falling. That depends on the weekly fee, the person’s income and other costs. Care fees usually go up once a year, which brings the date forward. It also helps to:

• keep balances up to date, at least monthly
• contact the council’s adult social care team in writing, so there is a dated record
• note every contact with its date, how it was made and the name of the person you spoke to
• ask the care home what the council will pay, and whether it accepts that rate

Top-ups

When the council helps with fees, it sets an amount it will pay for a suitable care home. If the family chooses a home that costs more, someone usually has to pay the difference. This is a top-up. It is normally paid by a relative or friend, not by the person in care. The person can only pay it from their own money in limited cases, such as during the 12-week property disregard.

A top-up needs to be agreed in writing with the council and the care home. The payer has to keep paying for as long as the person stays, including when fees go up. If payments stop, the person may have to move.

Help from the NHS

If the person lives in a care home that provides nursing, the NHS pays a weekly amount towards it. In England, NHS-funded Nursing Care is £267.68 a week from 1 April 2026. If the main need for care is a health need, the NHS may pay for all of it. Our guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare explains how that works.

Gifts made around the time care is needed can also affect the means test. See our guide to deprivation of assets.

How Seventide helps

Seventide applies the means test for the person’s nation, shows their funding position and tariff income, and handles property disregards. Its monthly capital projection shows when savings are expected to reach the upper limit, with alerts 6, 3 and 1 months ahead. You can record care contracts, invoices, top-ups and NHS nursing payments, and log every council contact with a template letter for the first request.

This guide explains published rules in general terms. It is not financial or legal advice, and only the council’s (or Trust’s) financial assessment decides what the person pays. Rules and figures can change. For decisions about the home, investments or care fees, you may want to ask a regulated financial adviser who specialises in care fees, or a solicitor.

Official sources

• NHS: Paying for your own care (self-funding)
• GOV.UK: Social care charging for care and support 2026 to 2027 (England)
• GOV.UK: Care and support statutory guidance (England)
• Welsh Government: Charging for social care
• mygov.scot: Financial assessments for care
• nidirect: Paying your care home fees

Last checked: October 2026, figures for the 2026/27 tax year.