Key Takeaways
The carer's element of universal credit is £209.34 per month in 2026/27, paid on top of your universal credit standard allowance to recognise unpaid caring responsibilities.
You must provide at least 35 hours of care each week for someone getting certain disability benefits to qualify, and there is no separate earnings limit for the carer's element itself.
You cannot be paid both the carer's element and the health element (LCWRA) for the same person in the same assessment period.
In a joint claim, both partners can qualify for the carer's element, but only one element can be paid for caring for the same person.
Claiming the carer's element or getting carer's allowance can stop the person you care for from receiving a severe disability premium in their legacy benefits.
Introduction to the Carer’s Element
The carer's element is an extra amount within universal credit designed for people who spend significant time caring for someone with a serious disability or lifelong health conditions. It sits alongside other elements like the standard allowance, child elements, housing costs, and the health element, all of which together form the maximum amount of universal credit you can receive. The Care Act 2014 recognises caregivers' rights in the UK, and this element provides financial support to individuals who care for disabled people.
This article covers the carer's element universal credit rules for the 2026/27 tax year, using concrete figures current as at 12 June 2026. Supported caregivers are less likely to experience burnout, and caregivers provided with adequate resources offer better quality care. Understanding how this element interacts with carer's allowance, the health element, and legacy benefits is essential before making any changes to your claim.
What Is the Carer’s Element of Universal Credit?
The carer's element is a specific element of universal credit added to your award if you have regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person. It is not a separate benefit. Instead, it forms part of the universal credit system and is means tested through the main universal credit calculation.
It is intended for people of working age on a low income who are caring for someone receiving qualifying disability benefits such as personal independence payment, disability living allowance, or attendance allowance. The carer element recognises the significant role of unpaid carers and helps avoid premature institutionalisation of care recipients by supporting people to continue providing care at home. Caring can be for an adult or a child, and you do not need to live with the person you care for to get this element.
How Much Is the Carer’s Element in 2026/27?
From 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, the carer's element of universal credit is £209.34 per month. For comparison, the 2025/26 rate was £201.68 per month, meaning the element increased by £7.66 per month. On a weekly basis, this works out at approximately £48.31. You can receive £209.34 monthly for the carer's element as one extra monthly amount on top of your other entitlements.
This amount is fixed and added on top of your universal credit standard allowance and any other elements you qualify for. Financial support from the carer element can improve household income for caregivers. However, it is important to understand that this extra monthly figure is before income deductions. The final amount of universal credit you receive may be lower once earnings and other income are taken into account.
Who Can Get the Carer’s Element?
To qualify, you must meet both caring conditions and benefit conditions linked to the person you care for. You can qualify whether or not you actually claim carer's allowance, and carers can receive the carer element without a strict earnings limit. However, only one carer's element is paid per care recipient, even if several people share the caring role. The carer's element can be included in both single and joint claim types, subject to specific rules.
Care requirement: at least 35 hours a week
You must provide at least 35 hours of care each week for one disabled person. This mirrors the rule used for carer's allowance. Care can include personal care, supervising for safety, help with medication, managing finances, cooking, cleaning, and attending appointments. Carers receiving financial support can dedicate more time to caregiving as a result.
The 35 hours can be spread across the week and do not need to be at fixed times or all in one block. It is sensible to keep a simple record of your weekly care hours in case DWP asks for evidence, particularly if you also work.
Qualifying benefits for the person you care for
The person you care for must receive a qualifying benefit. These include:
Personal independence payment (PIP) daily living component
Disability living allowance (DLA) middle or highest rate care component
Attendance allowance
Armed forces independence payment
Constant attendance allowance (paid with industrial injuries disablement benefit or war disablement pension)
Child disability payment or Adult Disability Payment (Scotland) covering daily living
It is the cared-for person who must be on these certain disability benefits, not the carer. The cared-for person does not need to be on universal credit themselves. You can still claim if they receive following legacy benefits like income-related employment and support allowance, but their entitlement to a severe disability premium may be affected.
Other basic conditions
You must be included in a universal credit claim (single or joint), be over 18 and under State Pension age, and usually be living in Great Britain with a right to reside and no restrictions on accessing public funds. Different rules apply in northern ireland. You need a national insurance number and must meet standard universal credit eligibility conditions.
You cannot receive more money by caring for several people. The carer's element is paid once per carer. Carers in full-time education may not be eligible to claim carer's allowance but can still get the carer's element if universal credit rules are met. You must tell DWP about changes in circumstances, such as stopping caring or the cared-for person losing their qualifying benefit.
Carer’s Element and Other Universal Credit Elements
The carer's element is just one of several additional elements included when working out how much universal credit you receive each month. Your maximum amount is made up of:
Element | Purpose |
|---|---|
Standard allowance | Base amount for every claim |
Child elements | For each dependent child |
Disabled child elements | Higher/lower rates for children on disability benefits |
Housing costs | Rent or mortgage interest |
Childcare costs | Registered childcare while working |
Health element (LCW/LCWRA) | For claimants with a health condition limiting work |
Carer's element | For unpaid carers meeting caring conditions |
Once all elements are added, deductions for earnings, savings, and other income are applied. No element of universal credit, including the carer's element, is protected from income deductions.
Standard allowance and children
Every claim has one universal credit standard allowance, with the exact rate depending on your age and whether you live with your partner or claim as a single person. Extra child elements are added for each dependent child, with different amounts depending on whether the child was born before or after 6 April 2017. Separate elements exist for disabled children receiving disability benefits. These child and disabled child elements can be included alongside the carer's element.
Health element vs carer’s element
The health element covers limited capability for work (LCW) and limited capability for work and work related activity (LCWRA), sometimes called the health element of universal credit called upon where a claimant has a serious health condition. From 6 April 2026, the LCWRA extra amount is paid at two rates - an intermediate rate and an exceptional rate - depending on severity and permanence.
You usually cannot receive the LCWRA extra amount and the carer's element for the same person in the same assessment period. You cannot receive the carer's element if you have LCWRA for the same cared-for individual. Where a choice exists, DWP will normally include whichever element gives the higher entitlement. Carers should check how this affects other benefits and work-related requirements.
Joint Claims and Couples
In a joint claim, both partners are assessed together and receive one combined universal credit payment for the household. Each partner can be treated as a carer and qualify for the carer's element in their own right if they each care for someone who meets the qualifying conditions and receives following benefits that count.
If both partners care for the same person, only one carer's element can be paid for that person. Only one person can claim the carer's element per care recipient. If both partners have limited capability and are found to have LCWRA, only one LCWRA extra payment is usually paid.
Examples of joint claim situations
Partner A cares for a disabled child receiving child disability payment, and Partner B cares for an elderly parent on attendance allowance. Both can receive a carer's element in the same joint claim because they care for different people.
Both partners share care of the same adult on PIP daily living component. Only one carer's element is payable between them.
One partner qualifies for the higher LCWRA amount due to their own health condition, and the other is a carer. Depending on the assessment, only one extra amount may apply, and the couple should check which combination gives more money overall.
How to Add the Carer’s Element to Your Universal Credit Claim
There is no separate paper form. You usually add the carer's element through your online universal credit account or when making a new claim. You must report that you care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and provide details of the cared-for person and their disability benefits.
You can ask for help via the universal credit helpline or at a Jobcentre if you cannot manage an online account. You must report your caring status to receive the carer's element. It is not automatically added just because you are getting carer's allowance.
Information you need to provide
DWP will usually ask for:
The name, date of birth, and national insurance number of the person you care for
Which qualifying benefit they receive
Confirmation that you provide at least 35 hours of care a week
Contact details for the cared-for person if needed
Keep copies of award letters for PIP, DLA, attendance allowance, or other qualifying benefits. If the cared-for person is waiting for a decision on a disability benefit, the carer's element can only be added once a qualifying award is in place.
What happens after you report being a carer
DWP will review your universal credit claim and may contact you for more information. Once approved, the carer's element will be included from the start of the assessment period in which you first met the conditions. You will see it listed separately on your statement as part of your maximum amount. Check your online account carefully and raise a journal message or call DWP if it does not appear when you believe it should.
How Often Is the Carer’s Element Paid and How Does It Affect Your Income?
The carer's element is added to your universal credit payment monthly on your established payment date. There is no separate payment schedule. The first payment, including any carer's element, is normally made about five weeks after you claim universal credit due to the assessment period system.
While the carer's element increases your maximum universal credit, the overall payment may still be reduced by earnings, savings, or other benefits such as paid carer's allowance. You receive universal credit as a single monthly payment covering your living costs.
Carer’s Element, Carer’s Allowance and Legacy Benefits
Carer's allowance is a separate, non-means tested benefit with its own earnings limit. The carer's element of universal credit is part of a single means tested benefit. You can receive the carer's element even without carer's allowance if you meet the caring conditions. The carer element can be claimed alongside carer's allowance under certain conditions.
Legacy benefits include the following legacy benefits: Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related employment and support allowance (a style employment and support allowance), housing benefit, and tax credits. Claiming a carer's element or carer's allowance can affect severe disability premiums in these other benefits for the person you care for.
Does getting Carer’s Allowance affect your Universal Credit?
Receiving carer's allowance reduces your universal credit amount. Carer's allowance is treated as unearned other income for universal credit and is deducted pound for pound. However, the extra carer's element can still increase your overall combined income. You can receive both at the same time if you meet both sets of conditions.
Report the start and end dates of carer's allowance promptly to avoid overpayments.
Impact on the person you care for and Severe Disability Premium
Claiming carer's element stops the severe disability premium for the cared person in their legacy benefits. This can affect benefits like income-related ESA, Income Support, housing benefit, and Pension Credit which include an SDP.
Households should compare the gain from the carer's element and carer's allowance with the potential loss of the SDP before deciding whether to claim. Carers on or linked to legacy benefits should seek independent advice before making changes.
Moving from legacy benefits to Universal Credit
Many people will move from legacy benefits to universal credit through a managed migration process, triggered by a Migration Notice letter from DWP. Transitional protection may be available so that households do not lose money immediately at the point of transfer.
In the month of moving, some legacy benefits such as income-related support allowance and housing benefit may be paid for up to two weeks after the universal credit claim starts, and these extra payments generally do not have to be repaid. When moving from a legacy benefit system, meeting carer's allowance conditions can lead to entitlement to a carer's element within the new system, but overall amounts may differ.
Changes in Circumstances and Reviews
Universal credit claims are regularly reviewed by DWP. You must report key changes including:
Stopping caring or caring for fewer than 35 hours a week
The person you care for going into hospital or a care home
Their qualifying disability benefit ending
Any change in your circumstances change that affects your claim
If you fail to report changes, you may be overpaid and will usually have to repay. You can request a mandatory reconsideration and then appeal to a tribunal if you disagree with a DWP decision about your carer's element.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get the carer’s element if I work full-time?
Yes. There is no earnings limit for the carer's element. Your wages may reduce how much universal credit you receive overall, but they do not prevent you from being eligible for the carer's element. Keep evidence of your caring pattern if working long hours, in case DWP queries how you meet the 35-hour rule alongside employment.
Can I get the carer’s element for caring for more than one person?
You can only receive one carer's element per carer, even if you care for multiple people who all receive qualifying disability benefits. You can add hours of care for different people together to reach the 35-hour threshold, but this does not increase the rate. If several carers look after the same person, only one extra monthly amount is payable and they must agree which one will claim.
What happens to my carer’s element if the person I care for goes into hospital?
If the cared-for person goes into hospital or a care home and their disability benefit stops after a period (usually after 28 days), your entitlement usually ends from the following assessment period. You must tell DWP as soon as they go into or come out of hospital. Short stays separated by less than 28 days can be linked together for benefit purposes.
Do I have work-related requirements if I get the carer’s element?
Many carers who receive the carer's element have reduced or no work related activity requirements, depending on the intensity of caring. You will usually discuss your caring role with your work coach, who can tailor work-search expectations. Keep your claimant commitment up to date so your caring responsibilities are properly reflected.
Can I get both the carer’s element and the health element (LCWRA) at the same time?
The rules generally prevent you from receiving both for the same person in the same assessment period. If you meet conditions for both, DWP will normally include whichever element gives the higher entitlement. If you have both substantial caring responsibilities and your own serious health condition, seek independent advice, as the interaction of elements and legacy benefits can be complex.
