Domiciliary Care Means Test UK (2026): How Care at Home Is Charged, and Why It Differs from Care Home Fees

When the local authority (council) arranges and pays for care services delivered in your own home, it carries out a financial assessment to determine how much you should contribute. This is governed by the Care Act 2014 and the Care and Support (Charging and Assessment of Resources) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2672). The most important difference from the care home means test is: YOUR PROPERTY IS ALWAYS DISREGARDED. For non-residential domiciliary care, the value of your home (including the equity in it) is excluded from the capital assessment at all times, there is no 12-week disregard; the property is simply not counted. This applies from day one and indefinitely: (1) CAPITAL ASSESSMENT: the same capital thresholds apply as for residential care. Above £23,250 upper capital limit: you are expected to pay the full cost of care from your capital and income; in the tariff income band (£14,250 to £23,250): the council contributes to the cost; you pay from income plus £1/week per £250 above the lower threshold; below £14,250 lower capital limit: no capital contribution; income only assessed. Capital included: savings; ISAs; National Savings; investments; second/investment property (not your main home, which is always disregarded). Capital excluded: your main home (in which you live); personal possessions; life interest trust capital (IPDI); discretionary trust capital (no entitlement); personal injury trust. The permanent property disregard removes the single largest asset from the assessment, meaning the home care means test is typically much more favourable than the care home assessment; (2) INCOME ASSESSMENT: income is assessed to determine your contribution. The council must always leave you with enough income for living costs, for domiciliary care, the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) applies: the council must not reduce your income below the applicable Pension Credit guarantee credit (approximately £218.15/week for a single person in 2025-26). Beyond the MIG, assessed income (State Pension; occupational pension; most benefits; rental income) contributes to the care cost; (3) MAXIMUM WEEKLY CHARGE FOR HOME CARE: local authorities may charge up to the full cost of the care they arrange. However, the charge must not reduce the service user's disposable income below the MIG. There is no national maximum weekly cap for domiciliary care charges (the promised £86,000 lifetime cap under the Health and Care Act 2022 has been repeatedly delayed); (4) FIRST 6 WEEKS: under Care Act 2014 guidance, local authorities should consider charging no more than a nominal amount (or nothing) for the first 6 weeks of reablement or recovery services following hospital discharge. Many but not all councils implement this.

The single most important difference between the domiciliary care means test and the care home means test is the treatment of the family home: (1) CARE HOME MEANS TEST, HOME CAN BE ASSESSED: in the residential care home means test, the value of the person's home is included in the capital assessment UNLESS a mandatory disregard applies (Regulation 18 of the Charging Regulations, qualifying person in occupation; or the 12-week property disregard at the start of permanent care). If no mandatory disregard applies and the person owns their home, it is counted and typically forces them to be self-funders until the equity falls below £23,250; (2) DOMICILIARY CARE MEANS TEST, HOME ALWAYS EXCLUDED: for care delivered in the person's own home, the property is always disregarded regardless of its value, regardless of whether anyone else lives there, and regardless of the duration of care. A person with a home worth £800,000 and savings of £10,000 would have their domiciliary care means-tested only on the £10,000 savings, not on the property. They would almost certainly receive a substantial council contribution to their home care costs; (3) THE TRIGGER POINT, WHEN THIS CHANGES: the property disregard for domiciliary care ends if the person moves permanently into a care home. At that point, the residential means test replaces the domiciliary means test, and the home becomes assessable capital (subject to the 12-week disregard at the start of the permanent residential placement and any applicable mandatory disregard under Regulation 18); (4) ESTATE PLANNING IMPLICATIONS: the permanent property disregard for domiciliary care means that: (a) receiving care at home is often significantly cheaper than moving into a residential care home; (b) the home is fully preserved; (c) if it is possible to receive equivalent care at home, remaining at home is usually the financially superior option; (d) estate planners often model both scenarios to assess relative cost, the difference can be significant over several years of care; (5) OTHER DIFFERENCES: (a) Minimum Income Guarantee applies (not just Personal Expenses Allowance), gives better income protection in domiciliary care; (b) 10% earnings disregard: if the care recipient has earnings from employment, 10% of net earnings is disregarded; (c) 25% contribution from earnings allowed as disregard in some council schemes.

Direct Payments are a way of receiving local authority social care funding directly as cash, allowing you to organise and purchase your own care rather than having the council arrange it for you. They are available under Care Act 2014 s.31: (1) WHO CAN RECEIVE DIRECT PAYMENTS: you are entitled to request Direct Payments if: (a) you have been assessed as having eligible care needs under Care Act 2014 s.9 (care needs assessment); (b) you have a Personal Budget (the amount the council has calculated it will cost to meet your eligible needs); (c) you have mental capacity to consent to the Direct Payments arrangement (or someone with an LPA or other authority can consent on your behalf); (2) HOW DIRECT PAYMENTS WORK: instead of the council arranging care services, the council pays the Direct Payment amount into a designated bank account. You then use that money to: (a) employ a personal assistant (PA) directly, giving you maximum flexibility and continuity; (b) purchase services from a care agency of your choice; (c) purchase assistive technology; (d) join a user-led cooperative care arrangement. You are responsible for managing the Direct Payment, keeping records, and demonstrating the money was spent on meeting your care needs; (3) EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES: if you use Direct Payments to employ a personal assistant directly, you become an employer. This means: (a) issuing an employment contract; (b) paying National Insurance contributions and operating PAYE; (c) Employers' Liability Insurance (required); (d) complying with employment law (holiday pay; sick pay; dismissal procedures). Many local authorities can connect Direct Payment recipients with payroll services and employer support; (4) THE FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT STILL APPLIES: receiving Direct Payments does not change the financial assessment. You still pay your assessed contribution towards the cost of care. The Direct Payment is the council's share of the total cost. If your financial assessment says you should contribute £100/week, and the care costs £300/week, the Direct Payment is £200/week; (5) DIRECT PAYMENTS AND LPA: if a person lacks capacity to manage Direct Payments, a property and financial affairs LPA attorney (or Court of Protection deputy) can manage the Direct Payment on their behalf. This is an important use case for registered LPAs, it allows the person to continue receiving home care under a Direct Payment arrangement even after loss of capacity.

NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is NHS funding for the full cost of a person's care package, including care delivered at home, when the person's primary need is a health need. CHC is entirely outside the means test and is not means-tested: (1) CHC FOR HOME CARE: CHC can fund a full package of domiciliary care at home. If CHC eligibility is established, the NHS funds 100% of the agreed care needs, the local authority social care funding and the means test do not apply. This can include: nursing care; personal care; physiotherapy; occupational therapy; complex medication management; round-the-clock care for severe needs. The NHS commissions and funds the care directly; (2) THE ELIGIBILITY DECISION, CHECKLIST AND DST: CHC eligibility is assessed using the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare (last revised 2022). Stage 1 is the CHC Checklist, a screening tool administered by a nurse, social worker, or other healthcare professional. If the checklist indicates potential CHC eligibility, a full assessment using the Decision Support Tool (DST) is carried out. Eligibility is established if the person has a 'primary health need', assessed across 12 care domains including: behaviour; cognition; psychological/emotional; communication; mobility; nutrition; continence; skin/tissue viability; breathing; symptom control; medication; and a 'priority' domain for highest-need cases; (3) WHAT 'PRIMARY HEALTH NEED' MEANS: the courts and NHS have confirmed that a 'primary health need' is not simply that the person has health conditions or needs nursing care. The nature, intensity, complexity, and unpredictability of the care needs are the key factors. Many people with complex dementia, severe neurological conditions, or end-stage conditions qualify; (4) CHC FAST-TRACK: where a person has a rapidly deteriorating condition likely to be terminal, a clinician can complete the CHC Fast-Track tool for immediate CHC authorisation, bypassing the full DST process. Fast-Track CHC should be established within 48 hours; (5) CHALLENGING A CHC REFUSAL: CHC is frequently refused or withdrawn inappropriately. If CHC is refused: (a) request reasons in writing; (b) ask for a copy of the DST; (c) request a review by the Integrated Care Board (ICB); (d) if unresolved, escalate to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; (e) specialist CHC solicitors and the Beacon CHC advice service can assist with challenges. Many successful CHC challenges result in retrospective recovery of care fees paid.

The funding of home care has important interactions with estate planning, and receiving home care reinforces the critical importance of having a registered LPA: (1) PROPERTY ALWAYS PRESERVED FOR HOME CARE: the permanent disregard of the main home in the domiciliary means test means that receiving care at home keeps the home fully available for the estate. The property can pass on death to family members (subject to IHT). This is a significant estate planning advantage over care home placement (where the home may be assessable or subject to a Deferred Payment Agreement charge); (2) LPA IS ESSENTIAL FOR HOME CARE MANAGEMENT: as a person's health and mental capacity declines, they will increasingly struggle to: (a) manage the financial arrangements for Direct Payments; (b) communicate with the care provider; (c) assess whether care is meeting their needs; (d) manage the bank accounts used for care contributions. Without a registered Property and Financial Affairs LPA, when capacity is lost, no one has authority to manage these arrangements. The appointed DWP Appointee only covers benefits, it does not cover Direct Payment management. A full Court of Protection deputyship is required in the absence of an LPA; (3) MINIMISING CARE COSTS, PLANNING OPTIONS: (a) if remaining at home with carers is feasible, the domiciliary means test is strongly preferable to the care home test; (b) Attendance Allowance (£108.55/wk higher rate, 2025-26) is non-means-tested and should always be claimed, it is not counted as income in the means test; (c) if you have a Property & Financial Affairs LPA, your attorney can actively manage the Direct Payment, communicate with the council, claim Attendance Allowance, and manage care contributions; (d) NHS CHC assessment should be requested if any doubt about eligibility, particularly for people with complex neurological, cardiac, or respiratory conditions; (4) IF HOME CARE TRANSITIONS TO CARE HOME: the transition from domiciliary care to residential care is the point at which the means test changes significantly. The permanent property disregard ends. A Deferred Payment Agreement should be considered before the transition, the 12-week property disregard applies from the date of permanent residential placement; (5) WILL TRUST TO PROTECT THE PROPERTY: if the main home is jointly owned and the first spouse dies, a life interest trust (IPDI) in the will means the surviving spouse has a right to occupy the property but the trust capital (the property) is not their capital for means test purposes, this applies in both the domiciliary and residential care tests.