Built by a former family carer, for family carers. V1 · June 2026
You and them, checked together

Carer's Allowance & SDP Checker

Carer's Allowance, Carer's Credit and the Carer Element — checked against the person you care for, in plain English. Nothing to click "calculate" on — it just updates as you go.

Three ways carers get paid

Cash, with a catch
Carer's Allowance
£86.45 / week
Needs: 35+ hrs/week caring, net earnings ≤£204/week
Affects the other person's benefits: Yes
The only one that pays cash. Also the only one that can end their Severe Disability Premium.
Protection, not pay
Carer's Credit
NI credit only
Needs: 20+ hrs/week caring, no earnings or savings limit
Affects the other person's benefits: No
Protects your State Pension without touching their benefits. The safe choice when Carer's Allowance doesn't add up.
Built into Universal Credit
Carer Element
£209.34 / month
Needs: same caring conditions as Carer's Allowance, added via your UC journal
Affects the other person's benefits: No
You can get this whether or not you also claim the cash — Universal Credit has no Severe Disability Premium to lose.
How are the two of you set up? Most carers keep a separate claim from the person they care for, even if they live together. Only pick "joint claim" if you're partners claiming together.
Station 01
The carer
35 hrs
20+ hours unlocks Carer's Credit. 35+ hours unlocks Carer's Allowance and the Carer Element.
Blocks Carer's Allowance and the Carer Element completely, regardless of hours cared or earnings. Carer's Credit isn't affected by this rule.
Leave blank to ignore.
If yes, you won't get cash from Carer's Allowance — but "underlying entitlement" still applies, which is enough to unlock the Carer Premium below. On its own it does not put their Severe Disability Premium at risk.
We'll check if you can get a Carer Premium, Addition or Element added to this.
What's a Carer Premium / Addition?

A top-up added to your own means-tested benefit. It's separate money from Carer's Allowance, and separate from anything that happens to the cared-for person's benefits — three different pots, three different rules.

  • Carer Premium — added to Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, or Housing Benefit.
  • Carer Addition — added to Pension Credit.
  • Universal Credit doesn't get this — it has its own separate Carer Element instead.

You don't need to actually be paid Carer's Allowance in cash to qualify. Meeting the conditions is enough — known as "underlying entitlement."

It isn't always added automatically. The office that pays your means-tested benefit often needs telling separately, as a change of circumstances — it's one of the most commonly missed amounts in the whole system.

Couples can each get their own premium, but only if you're caring for two different people. Caring for the same person between you, only one premium is paid.

Savings don't affect Carer's Allowance or Carer's Credit at all — this only matters for the benefit above.
Station 02
The cared-for person
Without this, nobody can claim anything for them.
Check their award letter if unsure — it's listed as a separate line.
This affects Universal Credit, legacy benefits and Pension Credit — not their disability benefit.
Council Tax Support is set by the local council, not the DWP. It varies by area, even when everything else here is the same. Find their council's scheme →
—
£0.00 / week Fill in both stations to see the net change.

What to claim first

    National Insurance credit tracker

    Counts weeks for as long as you keep this page open. It resets if you close or reload it — the dates are listed below so you can copy them into your own notes if you want to keep them.

    Checking this week…
    0 of 52 weeks logged.

    Get a person involved

    Carers UK Helpline
    0808 808 7777 · Mon–Fri, 9am–6pm
    carersuk.org
    Turn2us benefits calculator
    Free, runs both claims properly
    turn2us.org.uk
    Citizens Advice
    0800 144 8848 (England)
    citizensadvice.org.uk
    Local Carers' Centre
    In-person support near you
    carers.org

    Sources

    Carers Info logo www.carersinfo.com · Built by a former family carer, for family carers.

    Independent tool. Carers Info is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Government, gov.uk, Social Security Scotland, the Disability and Carers Service, or any of the organisations linked from this page. For more about Carers Info, visit www.carersinfo.com.

    Not advice. This tool gives general estimates based on 2026/27 benefit rates and rules. It is not financial, legal, or professional advice, and it isn't a formal benefits calculation or entitlement decision. It can't account for every personal circumstance — see the limits below. Always confirm your actual entitlement with Carers UK, Turn2us, Citizens Advice, or the relevant government department before claiming, changing, or stopping any benefit.

    No liability. This tool is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind. Carers Info accepts no responsibility for any loss, overpayment, missed entitlement, or other consequence arising from reliance on the figures, flags, or guidance shown here.

    Your data. The figures you type into this checker, and the weeks you log in the National Insurance credit tracker, are never sent anywhere — all the calculation happens on your own device. The tracker keeps your logged weeks only for as long as you keep this page open, and nothing is kept after you close or reload it — use the copy button in that section to keep your own record. This page does load its typefaces from Google Fonts, a third-party service, each time it opens; that request doesn't carry anything you've typed into the form, but it's not nothing, so we're not claiming otherwise.

    Rates used: Carer's Allowance £86.45/wk, earnings limit £204/wk net, Carer's Credit (NI credit only, 20+ hrs/wk, no earnings or savings limit), Severe Disability Premium/Addition £86.05/wk (single rate), Carer Premium/Addition £48.15/wk, Universal Credit Carer Element £209.34/month (≈£48.31/wk net, after Carer's Allowance is counted as UC income) — all 2026/27, England/Wales/NI. Means-tested capital thresholds shown as £6,000–£16,000 (UC/legacy) and £10,000 (Pension Credit deemed income) are general rules, not exact deductions.

    Limits. This tool doesn't model couple-rate SDP precisely, the benefit cap, Scotland's Carer Support Payment, or full Universal Credit taper interactions. Rates and rules change — check gov.uk or an adviser for the current position before relying on any figure here.

    © 2026 Carers Info. All rights reserved.