EIM76210 | Social security benefits: Carer's allowance: summary

Part 10 Chapter 3 ITEPA 2003

Carer’s Allowance, which was called Invalid care allowance until 1 April 2003, is taxable.

The basic conditions for Carer’s Allowance are that the claimant must:

• spend at least 35 hours every week caring for a severely disabled person

• be at least 16 years old and below state pension age when he or she qualifies for Carer’s Allowance

• not be doing work for which he or she earns (or expects to earn) more than £79 (from April 2004) a week

• not be attending a full-time course of education.

Dependency increases

Extra Carer’s Allowance is paid for an adult who lives with the claimant. The adult must either be the claimant’s husband, wife or civil partner, or a person who looks after the claimant’s children.

Extra Carer’s Allowance is paid for each child dependent.

Adult dependency increases are taxable. Child dependency increases are not taxable (see EIM76102).

Relationship with other benefits

Carer’s Allowance is not payable if the claimant already gets the same amount or more from certain other social security benefits, for example retirement pension or bereavement benefit. In limited circumstances Carer’s Allowance is paid instead of retirement pension after the claimant has reached state pension age.

If someone else is receiving an increase of benefit for the Carer’s Allowance claimant, for example, an adult dependency increase payable with incapacity benefit, the dependency increase will be adjusted to take account of any Carer’s Allowance payable. Generally speaking the dependency increase will no longer be payable.

If you need more information about Carer’s Allowance ask your local Benefits Agency for leaflet FB31 ‘Caring for someone’ and DS700 ‘Carer’s Allowance claim pack’.