Working out how much you will pay for care and support

Most people have to pay something towards the cost of their care and support. What you pay will depend on your individual circumstances and the kind of care and support you need. If you do need to pay a contribution towards your care or the full cost of your care then this payment will be from the date your care support starts.

Financial assessment

Before we arrange your care and support for you, we will look at your income, savings and outgoings. This is called a financial assessment. Your financial assessment will help us decide if we can help pay for your care and work out how much you may have to pay towards the costs and identify any benefits you may be entitled to. If you have savings over £23,250 you will have to pay for the cost of your care and support in full.

You can choose not to share your financial details with us. This will mean that you have to pay the full cost of your care and support. We can still help arrange your care and support for you but if you have been assessed as being able to pay the full cost of your care, then there is a fee to cover our costs for making these arrangements.

Whatever your situation, we will always offer you information and advice to help you choose the appropriate support to meet your needs.

If you are new to Adult Social Care you can now complete your financial assessment online and attach any supporting documents. This will help us decide if we can help pay for your care and work out how much, if anything, you will have to pay towards the costs.

Complete the financial assessment form

How we work out how much you pay

If you do not have savings over £23,250, we will add up your income and savings to work out how much you can afford to pay towards the cost of your care. We will ignore some types of income, such as wages and the mobility component of Personal Independent Payment.

If you are receiving care at home, we will take off a set allowance for your home expenses such as heat and light. We will also allow for some expenses you have told us about such as Council Tax, rent and disability related expenditure.

Whatever your financial circumstances, you will not have to pay for:

  • Annual review of needs, where services have been arranged
  • Assessment or reassessment of needs
  • Care and support plan, where the person has been assessed as eligible
  • Deprivation of Liberty Assessments
  • Financial assessment
  • Information, advice and signposting to other services
  • Keeping Safe / Safeguarding
  • Preventative and universal services, such as minor equipment up to £1000
  • Up to six weeks short-term support to help you regain your skills and independence

Care cost calculators

Although we are unable to provide our own care cost calculator currently, there are many free tools online created by independent organisations. They provide a good indication of what you might have to pay for your care prior to having a financial assessment by ourselves.

If you enter 'care cost calculator' into your web browser, this will provide details of any organisations that provide this service. You may want to look at different calculators for a comparison.

Where to get more information and advice

If you have any queries or would like more specific advice about paying for care and support and the financial assessment process, the Charging Helpline can help.

Contact details:

Up to Adult social care money matters

Updated: 20/03/2023