Care home fees in England
In England the council means-tests care home fees against capital limits of £23,250 and £14,250, and the NHS pays where your need is primarily a health need.
In England the council means-tests care home fees against capital limits of £23,250 and £14,250, and the NHS pays where your need is primarily a health need.
If you have more than £23,250 in capital that counts, you pay the full cost of a care home yourself. Below that the council works out a contribution from your income and your capital, and below £14,250 your capital is left out of the calculation altogether.
Your home counts as capital once you move permanently into a care home, unless a partner or a qualifying relative still lives there. There is no cap on the total you pay in England in 2026/27.
The advisers for this subject: Sunny Bharj and Tony Springer
Department of Health and Social Care, charging circular for 2026 to 2027, published 17 February 2026. Checked 26 October 2026.
Councils can set higher limits for care at home and other care outside a care home. For a permanent place in a care home the limits above apply in every council in England.
A council must ignore the value of your home for the first 12 weeks after you move permanently into a care home.Care and support statutory guidance, Annex B
Scotland pays personal care free to everyone assessed as needing it, but the accommodation charge in a care home is still means-tested, against its own £22,750 and £36,750 capital limits.
Read more →Wales runs its own capital limits for means-tested care funding, well above England's, and a lump sum from equity release counts towards them.
Read more →Northern Ireland uses the same £23,250 and £14,250 capital limits as England, confirmed unchanged for 2026/27, and a lump sum from equity release counts towards them.
Read more →No. An £86,000 cap on lifetime personal care costs was planned and the government announced on 29 July 2024 that the reforms would not go ahead in October 2025. The cap and where it stands
You may. The council means-tests care at home as well, but the house you live in is not counted and the council can set capital limits higher than £23,250 and £14,250.
The council assesses your own income and capital. Money you hold jointly is treated as split equally unless there is evidence of a different share.
The council has to involve anyone holding a lasting power of attorney for property and financial affairs or for health and welfare. Without one, your family may have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as deputy. Lasting powers of attorney
Anything a partner in a care home inherits counts as their capital. Without a will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits, and a husband, wife or civil partner comes first. What happens if I die without a will?
Yes, where somebody pays the difference as a top-up. You can pay it from your own capital only during the 12-week property disregard or under a deferred payment agreement. Otherwise a relative or another third party pays it.
Care charging rules and tax treatment depend on your individual circumstances and on current rules, both of which can change. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax advice, trusts or estate planning.
The NHS where the need is primarily a health need, the council below £23,250 of capital, and you above it.
Read the answer →Not while a partner or qualifying relative lives there, and a deferred payment agreement can put off a sale until after death.
Read the answer →The council can treat you as still owning it, and charge the person you gave it to.
Read the answer →No. An £86,000 cap on personal care costs was planned for England and is not in force.
Read the answer →
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