Carers
Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit: what you really gain by claiming both
Two rules decide the outcome: a full deduction, and a carer element that does not depend on Carer’s Allowance.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
When you get Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit together, the allowance is treated as unearned income and taken off Universal Credit pound for pound. At £86.45 a week that is about £374.62 a month in 2026/27. The carer element of £209.34 a month stays in the Universal Credit award either way: it depends on caring at least 35 hours a week for someone on a qualifying benefit, not on claiming Carer’s Allowance, and it is paid even if your earnings are too high for the allowance. So for most carers on a full Universal Credit award, claiming Carer’s Allowance changes how the money arrives, not how much. The household gains only when Universal Credit is smaller than the allowance, typically because a partner works. The allowance still brings Class 1 National Insurance credits, a weekly or four-weekly payment that does not depend on household income, and an exemption from the benefit cap. The person you care for may lose a severe disability premium when you claim.
Carer’s Allowance and Universal Credit together
Change in income a month
£0.00
| Universal Credit with carer element, no CA | £934.24 |
| Universal Credit after deducting CA | £559.62 |
| Carer’s Allowance a month | £374.62 |
| Total with CA | £934.24 |
Single carer aged 25 or over, caring 35 hours a week. The carer element is paid either way; claiming Carer’s Allowance adds Class 1 National Insurance credits.
The two rules
GOV.UK’s Carer’s Allowance guide states the first: your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by an amount equal to your Carer’s Allowance. The second is in regulation 30 of the Universal Credit Regulations: the carer element is added if you meet the Carer’s Allowance conditions, or would but for your earnings, whether or not you have claimed the allowance. GOV.UK’s Universal Credit guide confirms the carer element is £209.34 a month and that you may also be eligible for Carer’s Allowance on top. Put together, the allowance replaces part of the Universal Credit award; it does not replace the carer element.
When claiming both leaves you better off
Universal Credit can only fall to nil. If the allowance is larger than the Universal Credit you would get without it, the excess is a real gain. That happens most often in couples where one partner works. The table follows a couple in their forties, renting from a housing association for £650 a month, with no children. One partner cares full time for her father; the other’s take-home pay changes from row to row.
| Partner’s take-home pay | UC without CA | UC with CA | Total with CA | Gain a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £0 | £1,526.31 | £1,151.69 | £1,526.31 | £0.00 |
| £1,500 | £701.31 | £326.69 | £701.31 | £0.00 |
| £2,300 | £261.31 | £0.00 | £374.62 | £113.31 |
| £2,800 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £374.62 | £374.62 |
With no earnings or modest earnings, the allowance simply swaps with Universal Credit. At £2,300 a month the couple’s Universal Credit without the allowance is only £261.31, so the allowance lifts their income by £113.31 a month. At £2,800 Universal Credit has already gone, and the whole £374.62 is extra. Because the carer has no earnings of her own, the £204 weekly test is no obstacle: Carer’s Allowance looks at the carer’s own earnings, never the partner’s.
Why claim when the cash is the same
For a carer whose Universal Credit is larger than the allowance, the total does not change, but other things do.
- National Insurance. Carer’s Allowance gives Class 1 credits, which count towards the State Pension and help with contributory benefits such as New Style ESA. Universal Credit gives Class 3 credits, which count for the State Pension only.
- Independence from household income. If a partner moves in, gets a pay rise or finds work, Universal Credit can stop overnight; Carer’s Allowance carries on.
- Rhythm. The allowance is paid weekly in advance or every four weeks, which some carers find easier than one monthly payment.
- Benefit cap. Anyone getting Carer’s Allowance is outside the cap, though the carer element in Universal Credit already exempts the household.
Two earnings tests, side by side
The two benefits look at work very differently. Carer’s Allowance has a weekly cliff edge of £204 on your own earnings after tax, National Insurance and allowable expenses. Universal Credit looks at the whole household’s monthly take-home pay and takes 55 % of it away, after a work allowance of £427 or £710 only if the household has a child or someone with limited capability for work. A carer taking home £1,000 a month, about £231 a week, with no expenses to deduct, fails the Carer’s Allowance test but keeps the carer element in Universal Credit. The work allowance page explains who gets one.
When the health element gets in the way
A claimant whose Universal Credit includes the health element for limited capability for work and work-related activity cannot also have the carer element. If that claimant still meets the caring conditions and claims Carer’s Allowance, the allowance is deducted in full with no carer element to offset, so the household only gains if Universal Credit was already small. For couples, the carer element can sometimes go to the other partner instead; the carer element guide covers that case.
The person you care for
GOV.UK’s Universal Credit guide says that if the person you care for gets the severe disability premium, it will stop when you claim the carer element. Carer’s Allowance has the same effect, and also usually ends the severe disability amount in their Pension Credit. Check what they stand to lose before claiming.
Reporting, and the Scottish version
Report the Carer’s Allowance award in your Universal Credit journal as soon as the decision arrives. A backdated award creates arrears of allowance and, until Universal Credit catches up, an overpayment of Universal Credit that the DWP will recover. Mygov.scot warns of the same effect with Carer Support Payment in Scotland, which is also counted as income for Universal Credit; its Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment are not. The Carer’s Allowance guide covers the other conditions.