How much you get
In 2026/27, Carer's Allowance pays £86.45 a week, from 6 April 2026. That is the headline rate from GOV.UK's benefit and pension rates publication, and it is the figure every other page on this site uses. The table below gives the equivalents carers actually see in their bank account, and the previous year's rate for comparison.
| Period | 2026/27 | 2025/26 (comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| Per week | £86.45 | £83.30 |
| Every 4 weeks | £345.80 | £333.20 |
| Per year (52 weeks) | £4,495.40 | £4,331.60 |
Payment is made into a bank or building society account, and the carer can choose to be paid weekly in advance or every four weeks. The choice is the carer's, and it can matter for budgeting: weekly payment smooths a tight budget, while four-weekly payment matches the rhythm of most other benefits and of monthly bills.
Tax and National Insurance
Carer's Allowance is a taxable benefit, but on its own it sits below the £12,570 Personal Allowance for 2026/27, so tax only bites where the carer has other taxable income on top of it. Separately, each week on Carer's Allowance automatically gives National Insurance credits toward the State Pension and certain other benefits — a valuable part of the package for carers who are not otherwise building a National Insurance record, and one that continues even in weeks where the payment itself is affected by an overlap (see underlying entitlement on the overlapping benefits page).
Figures to ignore
Some third-party pages still present £81.90 a week as the current rate, and £83.30 as the 2026/27 rate. Both are wrong: £81.90 is a pre-2025/26 figure, and £83.30 was the 2025/26 rate. This site uses only the GOV.UK 2026/27 figure of £86.45. No rate for 2027/28 is stated anywhere on this site, because it has not been announced.