Written and reviewed by the Oath Healthcare care team · CQC-regulated provider · Last reviewed: 11 June 2026
The care itself is rarely the confusing part. Paying for care at home is — because nobody hands families a map. Who pays? Does the council help? Does the house count? What’s means-tested and what isn’t? Most people piece it together from phone calls, half-remembered advice and late-night searching.
This is the map. In plain English: every route for paying for care at home in England in 2026, what each one costs, and the order in which to check them — because checking in the wrong order can cost a family thousands.
Short on time? There are four routes: NHS Continuing Healthcare (pays everything, no means test — check it first with the free eligibility checker), council funding (means-tested, but your home is never counted for care at home), non-means-tested benefits like Attendance Allowance, and self-funding (visiting care from £25/hour, live-in from £1,100/week). Most families end up combining two or three.
Start here: the rule that changes the whole picture
For care in your own home, the value of your home is completely ignored in the council’s financial assessment. The means test only looks at savings, investments and income. The house enters the calculation only if someone moves permanently into a care home — a point we cover properly in our guides to the deprivation of assets rules and deferred payment agreements.
So a family whose money is mostly bricks and mortar — which is most British families — is often far closer to council help for home care than they assume.
The four ways of paying for care at home
Route 1: NHS Continuing Healthcare — check this first ⭐
If your relative’s needs are primarily health needs — complex or unstable conditions, nursing-level care, rapid deterioration — NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funds the full package, at home, with no means test. Savings and property are irrelevant. It is the most valuable and most under-claimed funding in the system. Start with our CHC checklist, or the two-minute eligibility checker.
Route 2: Council funding — means-tested, but friendlier than you think
The council route has two stages. First a care needs assessment establishes what support is needed. Then a financial assessment works out who pays. In England in 2026:
- Counted savings over £23,250: you self-fund (but the house isn’t counted, and benefits still apply).
- Savings under £14,250: capital ignored entirely; you contribute from income only.
- In between: a “tariff income” of £1/week per £250 of savings.
Whatever the sums say, the council must leave you with a minimum amount of income to live on — the Minimum Income Guarantee. And if the council does fund care, you can take the money as direct payments: a personal budget paid to you, which you use to choose your own care agency rather than accepting whoever holds the council contract. Families use direct payments to choose Oath every week.
Route 3: Benefits that aren’t means-tested at all
- Attendance Allowance — for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care. Up to around £110/week, not means-tested, not taxed, and it doesn’t matter what you own. Hugely under-claimed.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) — the working-age equivalent.
- Carer’s Allowance — for a family member providing 35+ hours of care a week, within earnings limits.
These stack with everything else. A self-funding family claiming Attendance Allowance recovers several thousand pounds a year towards care they were paying for anyway.
Route 4: Self-funding — with real numbers
If the means test says self-fund, the question becomes simply: what does good care cost? We publish our rates:
- Visiting care — from £25/hour (dementia visiting care from £28/hour)
- Overnight care — from £180/night sleeping, £260/night waking
- Live-in care — from £1,100/week (see the full live-in care cost guide)
If a provider’s price is “let’s discuss,” treat that as a flag. Pricing transparency is a sign of confidence.
The four routes compared
| Route | Means-tested? | Is the house counted? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHS Continuing Healthcare | No | No | Primarily health needs — always check first |
| Council funding / direct payments | Yes (savings & income only) | No — disregarded for care at home | Savings under £23,250 |
| Attendance Allowance / PIP | No | No | Everyone with care needs — stacks with all routes |
| Self-funding | — | No | Savings over £23,250; full choice of provider |
The right order: a 5-step plan
- Rule NHS Continuing Healthcare in or out — two minutes on the eligibility checker. Everything else waits until this is answered.
- Request a care needs assessment from the council — free, regardless of wealth, and it unlocks every other door.
- Claim Attendance Allowance or PIP in parallel — not means-tested, backdated only to the claim date, so claim early.
- Complete the financial assessment — remembering the house doesn’t count for care at home.
- Choose the provider — via direct payments if council-funded, directly if self-funding. Either way: CQC rating, DBS-checked carers, same-carer continuity, a written care plan, family communication, out-of-hours support, a named local manager, and published prices.
How families actually combine the routes: three examples
The self-funder who wasn’t. A daughter in Cambridge assumed her dad would pay for everything — he owned his bungalow outright. But his savings were £19,000, and the bungalow doesn’t count for care at home. The council funds a share via direct payments, he claims Attendance Allowance, and the family tops up for extra visits. What looked like £1,000/month self-funding became under £400.
The CHC case nobody had mentioned. A husband with rapidly progressing Parkinson’s and nursing-level needs was about to sign for self-funded live-in care. The screening checklist suggested a full CHC assessment was warranted — and the NHS now funds his entire package at home. Nobody at the hospital had raised it. This is why CHC is step one, every time.
The genuine self-funder. Savings well over £23,250, no primary health need. The family claims Attendance Allowance (not means-tested), gets the care needs assessment anyway to document everything, and chooses their provider on quality. The benefit covers roughly one week of visiting care each month — recovered simply by claiming it.
Different sums, same pattern: the families who pay the least are the ones who checked the routes in the right order before signing anything.
Frequently asked questions
Is my house counted when paying for care at home?
No. For care in your own home, the property is fully disregarded from the council’s financial assessment. Only savings, investments and income are counted.
How much can I have in savings before paying for home care?
In England in 2026, over £23,250 in counted savings means you self-fund. Under £14,250, capital is ignored. Between the two, you pay £1/week per £250 of savings as tariff income.
What are direct payments?
If the council agrees to fund some or all of your care, you can take the money as a personal budget paid directly to you, and use it to employ the home care agency of your choice rather than the council’s contracted provider.
Can the NHS pay for care at home?
Yes. NHS Continuing Healthcare can fund a full home care package, including live-in care, when someone’s needs are primarily health needs. It is not means-tested, and it is checked through an assessment process that starts with a screening checklist.
Is Attendance Allowance means-tested?
No. Attendance Allowance depends only on your care needs and being over State Pension age. Savings, income and home ownership are irrelevant, and it can be spent on any care you choose.
How much does care at home cost in 2026?
Typical published rates are from 25 pounds an hour for visiting care, from 180 pounds a night for overnight care, and from 1,100 pounds a week for live-in care. Always ask a provider for their published rates – reputable agencies will give them.
Want the funding question answered for your family?
Bring us the situation — needs, savings ballpark, what’s been said at the hospital or GP — and a care advisor will walk you through which routes apply, free and with no obligation. It’s the same conversation we have with families every day.
- 📞 Cambridge: 01223 755887
- 📞 Redbridge & East London: 020 3949 4333
- 📞 South Essex: 01268 206550
- 🌐 Or start with the free NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility checker
We’re CQC Rated Good, family-run, and we publish our prices. We’ll also tell you when a funding route means you shouldn’t be paying us at all — that’s rather the point of this guide.
Speak to your local Oath Healthcare team
Once you understand how your care will be funded, the next step is regulated, local support at home. Oath Healthcare provides CQC-rated visiting and live-in care, and our coordinators can help you put your chosen funding route into practice: