Paying for care or support in your own home

Find out what you’ll pay for care services in your own home if we’ve assessed you and agreed a care plan.

What we mean by care or support

Types of care and support we can arrange for you to receive in your home, if you have eligible needs, include:

  • help at home from a paid carer
  • making changes to your home
  • equipment to help with daily tasks
  • personal alarms so you can call for help

Check you’re eligible for council care or support

If you think you might benefit from care or support in your own home that we arrange, you should request a care needs assessment.

This will tell us if you’re eligible to receive care, and what kind of care or support would be best for you.

In order for us to arrange care for you, you’ll need to meet eligibility criteria.

Working out what you'll pay for your care (financial assessment)

If you've had a care needs assessment that shows you're eligible to receive care or support in your own home, we'll ask you to complete a financial assessment.

This will show us how much you need to pay towards your care.

Most people have to pay something towards their care.

If you have more than £23,250 in savings and investments, you'll have to pay for all your own care.

If you have less than £23,250 in savings and investments, you might receive some help paying for your care.

Learn more about how we work out what you'll pay (financial assessment)

Managing your care budget

If we're able to contribute anything towards your care or support, we'll provide you with a personal budget. There are different ways you can choose to manage this money.

Learn more about personal budgets and how to manage them

When we take the value of your property into account

If you’re receiving care in a home that you own, we won't include the value of that property in your financial assessment.

If you own more than one property, we will take the value of your other properties into account.

If you need to go into a care home, we'll take the value of your property into account.

Learn more about help with care home costs

Find out if you can claim for disability related costs

If your income is made up of a disability related benefit, you might be able to claim for extra costs resulting from your disability.

These benefits include:

  • Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Attendance Allowance

You can tell us about any disability-related costs in your financial assessment. These might include:

  • extra heating
  • community alarm system
  • extra laundry costs
  • special clothing
  • special dietary requirements
  • disability-related equipment
  • transport costs

You’ll need to show invoices and receipts as evidence for these costs.

Check what benefits you're entitled to

To find out if you’re eligible for any benefits, you can:

Money to cover everyday costs

When calculating what you’ll pay for your care, we make sure you’re left with enough money to cover your daily expenses. This is called the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG).

The amount is set by the Department of Health and Social Care. It will vary depending on your age and the benefits you receive.

When you might not have to pay anything

Most people have to pay something towards their care. But you might not have to pay anything if you: