# Care home costs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland compared with England > Family & care · Last updated 25 September 2026 Canonical HTML: https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-costs-scotland-wales-northern-ireland/ Markdown mirror: https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-costs-scotland-wales-northern-ireland.md ## Quick answer The care home means test differs across the UK. For 2026/27 the upper capital limit is £23,250 in England and Northern Ireland, £36,750 in Scotland and £50,000 in Wales. Scotland also pays £260.30 a week towards personal care, plus £117.10 for nursing care, for everyone assessed as needing it, including self-funders. ## Who should skip this Skip this if you only need the English rules in detail: our [care home funding guide](/family-life/care-home-funding-options/) explains the England means test. This page doesn't quote care home fees, which vary from home to home, so ask homes for written prices. Social care is devolved, so how much you can keep before paying care home fees, the allowance you're left with and any free care payments all depend on where you live. This guide puts the 2026/27 figures for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland side by side. Each one is checked against the government circular or legislation that sets it, and we say so where a figure isn't published. ## Key facts - Upper capital limit 2026/27: £23,250 in England and Northern Ireland, £36,750 in Scotland, £50,000 in Wales - Lower capital limit: £14,250 in England and Northern Ireland, £22,750 in Scotland; Wales has a single limit and takes nothing from capital below it - Weekly personal allowance in a care home: £31.80 England, £46.35 Wales, £37.65 Scotland, £36.62 Northern Ireland - Scotland pays £260.30 a week for personal care and £117.10 for nursing care; England's NHS nursing contribution is £267.68 - England's planned £86,000 lifetime cap on care costs was cancelled in July 2024, and no UK nation has a lifetime cap ## How do the capital limits compare in 2026/27? Capital limits decide when the council, or the HSC trust in Northern Ireland, starts to help with care home fees. Above the upper limit you pay the full fee yourself. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland also have a lower limit: between the two, you're treated as having £1 a week of 'tariff income' for every £250 of capital above the lower limit, and below the lower limit your capital is ignored, although you still pay from your income. England and Northern Ireland kept their limits unchanged for 2026/27; Northern Ireland's Department of Health said this reflected financial pressures and its work on reforming adult social care. Scotland raised both limits from 6 April 2026. Wales works differently: capital at or below £50,000 isn't used towards the charge at all, so there's no tariff income. *Care home capital limits, 2026/27* | Nation | Upper limit | Lower limit | Capital between the limits | Set by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | England | £23,250 | £14,250 | £1 a week per £250 (or part of £250) | DHSC local authority circular, 17 February 2026 | | Wales | £50,000 | No lower limit | Capital at or below £50,000 isn't used | Care and Support (Charging) (Wales) Regulations 2015, reg 11 | | Scotland | £36,750 | £22,750 | £1 a week per £250 (or part of £250) | Scottish SI 2026/42, from 6 April 2026 | | Northern Ireland | £23,250 | £14,250 | £1 a week per £250 | Department of Health circular HSC (CHU) 1/2026, from 6 April 2026 | ## How much income do you keep in a care home? If the council or trust helps with your fees, most of your income goes towards them, but you must be left with a weekly allowance to spend as you choose. It isn't meant to pay for care you've been assessed as needing. Councils can let you keep more in some situations, for example to help run a home where a partner still lives. Wales's allowance is the highest of the four, at £46.35 a week, and England's the lowest, at £31.80. Over a year that's a difference of £2,410.20 − £1,653.60 = £756.60. In Northern Ireland, nidirect still showed £34.10 when we checked on 25 September 2026, but the Department of Health's circular sets £36.62 from 6 April 2026. *Weekly personal allowance for care home residents the council or trust helps to fund, 2026/27* | Nation | Name | Weekly amount | Over a year (× 52) | Set by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | England | Personal expenses allowance | £31.80 | £1,653.60 | DHSC circular, 2026/27 | | Wales | Minimum income amount | £46.35 | £2,410.20 | Welsh SI 2026/22, from 6 April 2026 | | Scotland | Sum for personal requirements | £37.65 | £1,957.80 | Scottish SI 2026/43, from 6 April 2026 | | Northern Ireland | Personal expenses allowance | £36.62 | £1,904.24 | Circular HSC (CHU) 1/2026, from 6 April 2026 | ## Which nations pay towards personal or nursing care? Only Scotland pays towards personal care in a care home. From 1 April 2026 the council pays £260.30 a week towards personal care and £117.10 towards nursing care for adults assessed as needing it, including people who pay for their own care home. The council pays the home directly, and mygov.scot says it doesn't have to pay for care you got before your assessment. You still pay for accommodation and living costs, means-tested as above. In England, the NHS pays £267.68 a week towards registered nursing care in a nursing home, or £368.24 for residents on the high band since before 1 October 2007, whoever pays the rest; our [NHS continuing healthcare guide](/family-life/nhs-continuing-healthcare/) explains how it's assessed. In Wales, local health boards pay a single all-Wales nursing care rate that's reviewed each year, but we couldn't find the 2026/27 rate published on GOV.WALES. In Northern Ireland, nidirect says the trust pays £100 a week towards nursing for residents of a nursing home with assessed nursing needs. *Weekly payments towards care home fees, 2026/27* | Nation | Personal care | Nursing care | Source | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | England | None | £267.68 (£368.24 on the pre-October 2007 high band) | NHS.UK, from 1 April 2026 | | Wales | None | Paid by health boards; 2026/27 rate not published on GOV.WALES | Welsh Government nursing care policy statement | | Scotland | £260.30 | £117.10 | Scottish SI 2026/157 and mygov.scot, from 1 April 2026 | | Northern Ireland | None | £100 | nidirect | ## Worked example: the same savings in each nation Take a single care home resident who rents, so there's no home to count, and whose only capital is savings. With £30,000, they'd pay the full fee in England and Northern Ireland until their savings fell to £23,250. In Scotland, £30,000 − £22,750 = £7,250, and £7,250 ÷ £250 = 29, so the council counts £29 a week of tariff income alongside their other income. In Wales, £30,000 is below the £50,000 limit, so their savings aren't used and they pay from income only, keeping £46.35 a week. With £20,000 instead, England and Northern Ireland count (£20,000 − £14,250) ÷ £250 = 23, or £23 a week of tariff income. In Scotland, £20,000 is below the £22,750 lower limit, and in Wales below £50,000, so savings are ignored in both. If the Scottish resident needs nursing care, the council also pays £260.30 + £117.10 = £377.40 a week to the home, whatever their savings. *Worked example: how £30,000 and £20,000 of savings are treated in 2026/27* | Nation | £30,000 of savings | £20,000 of savings | | --- | --- | --- | | England | Above £23,250: pays the full fee until savings fall to £23,250 | (£20,000 − £14,250) ÷ £250 = £23 a week tariff income, plus income | | Wales | Savings not used; pays from income, keeping £46.35 a week | Savings not used; pays from income, keeping £46.35 a week | | Scotland | (£30,000 − £22,750) ÷ £250 = £29 a week tariff income, plus income | Below £22,750: savings ignored; pays from income, keeping £37.65 a week | | Northern Ireland | Above £23,250: pays the full fee until savings fall to £23,250 | £23 a week tariff income, as in England, plus income | ## How is your home treated, and can you delay paying? In all four nations the value of your home is ignored for the first 12 weeks after you move permanently into a care home, and for as long as certain people live there, such as your partner or a relative aged 60 or over. The details differ: England's rules protect a home lived in by the resident's child under 18, while the official guidance in Scotland and Northern Ireland refers to a child under 16 whom you're liable to maintain. Deferred payment agreements, where the council recovers fees from your home later, also vary. English councils must offer one if your capital outside the home is £23,250 or less, and Welsh councils if it's £50,000 or less. Scottish councils decide case by case, and the amount is interest-free until 56 days after death. We couldn't find a statutory scheme for Northern Ireland. Our [deferred payment agreements guide](/family-life/deferred-payment-agreements/) has the detail. ## How does care at home compare? Home care follows separate rules, and in England and Wales the value of the home you live in isn't counted. England has no national maximum charge but protects a minimum income, £241.45 a week for a single person over Pension Credit age in 2026/27. Wales caps charges at £100 a week. Scotland provides personal care at home free. In Northern Ireland, home help is free for people aged 75 or over. Our guide to [paying for care at home](/family-life/paying-for-care-at-home/) covers each nation. ## What happened to the cap on care costs? There is no lifetime cap on care costs anywhere in the UK. In September 2021 the UK government announced an £86,000 cap on what anyone in England would spend on personal care over their lifetime, due from October 2023. The Autumn Statement 2022 delayed it to October 2025, and on 29 July 2024 the Treasury's public spending audit said the government would not proceed with the adult social care charging reforms. England's capital limits remain £23,250 and £14,250 for 2026/27. If you're planning ahead, base decisions on the rules in force now and check GOV.UK for any later announcement. Giving away money or property to avoid care charges can be treated as [deprivation of assets](/family-life/care-home-fees-and-deprivation-of-assets/) in every nation. ## Frequently asked questions ### Where can you keep the most savings before paying full care home fees? Wales, where the capital limit for care homes is £50,000 in 2026/27 and capital at or below it isn't used towards fees. Scotland's upper limit is £36,750, and the limit in England and Northern Ireland is £23,250. Income is assessed separately in every nation. ### Is care home care free in Scotland? No. Scotland pays £260.30 a week towards personal care and £117.10 towards nursing care for people assessed as needing them, but accommodation and living costs are still means-tested. With capital over £36,750 you pay the rest of the fee yourself. ### Does Northern Ireland use the same capital limits as England? Yes, for 2026/27: £23,250 upper and £14,250 lower, set by the Department of Health's circular HSC (CHU) 1/2026. The personal expenses allowance is different: £36.62 a week in Northern Ireland against £31.80 in England. ### Is there still a care cap in England? No. The £86,000 lifetime cap planned for October 2025 was cancelled in the government's public spending audit on 29 July 2024. The means test with the £23,250 and £14,250 capital limits still applies in 2026/27. ### Do self-funders get anything towards care home fees? In some cases. In Scotland, the personal and nursing care payments go to self-funders assessed as needing that care. In England, NHS-funded nursing care of £267.68 a week is paid to a nursing home whoever pays the rest. In Northern Ireland, trusts pay £100 a week towards nursing. ## Primary source https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-care-charging-for-local-authorities-2026-to-2027/social-care-charging-for-care-and-support-2026-to-2027-local-authority-circular, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2026/42/made, https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/guidance-charging-residential-accommodation, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2026/43/made, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2026/157/made, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2026/22/made, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1843/regulation/11, https://www.gov.wales/charging-social-care, https://www.mygov.scot/personal-nursing-care/costs, https://www.careinfoscotland.scot/topics/care-homes/paying-care-home-fees/personal-and-nursing-care-in-care-homes/, https://www.careinfoscotland.scot/topics/care-homes/paying-care-home-fees/capital-limits/, https://www.careinfoscotland.scot/topics/care-homes/paying-care-home-fees/property-disregard/, https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/paying-your-care-home-fees, https://www.nhs.uk/social-care-and-support/money-work-and-benefits/nhs-funded-nursing-care/, https://www.gov.wales/nhs-funded-nursing-care-fnc-interim-policy-statement-november-2022-html, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2672/regulation/25, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1844/schedule/2, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/build-back-better-our-plan-for-health-and-social-care/build-back-better-our-plan-for-health-and-social-care, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2022-documents/autumn-statement-2022-html, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-the-foundations-public-spending-audit-2024-25/fixing-the-foundations-public-spending-audit-2024-25-html ## Related - [Care home funding options in England](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-home-funding-options/) - [Deferred payment agreements explained](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/deferred-payment-agreements/) - [NHS continuing healthcare: who qualifies](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/nhs-continuing-healthcare/) - [Care home fees and deprivation of assets](https://moneyguide.org.uk/family-life/care-home-fees-and-deprivation-of-assets/) - [Can the council take my house for care fees?](https://moneyguide.org.uk/answers/can-the-council-take-my-house-for-care-fees-uk/) --- Independent UK money guidance from [Money Guide](https://moneyguide.org.uk). Information only — not regulated financial advice.