Carer support payment: rates, eligibility and how to apply
Scotland's replacement for Carer's Allowance, with a weekly supplement on top and extra for each additional person you care for.
By Graeme · Published 29 October 2026 · 6 min read
Last updated · Figures checked
Quick answer · Carer Support Payment 2026/27
£86.45a week
Plus the Scottish Carer Supplement of £11.70 a week, paid automatically. You need to care for 35 hours a week or more and take home no more than £204 a week.
- Carer Support Payment
- £86.45 a week
- Scottish Carer Supplement
- £11.70 a week
- Each additional person
- £10.40 a week
- Earnings limit
- £204 a week take home
2026/27 ratesSource mygov.scot
On this page
Carer Support Payment is what replaced Carer's Allowance in Scotland. If you look after someone for 35 hours a week or more, unpaid, it pays up to £86.45 a week. You also get the Scottish Carer Supplement on top, automatically.
Carer support payment rates for 2026/27
2026/27
The carer package in Scotland
| Payment | A week | A year | Affects other benefits? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carer Support Payment | £86.45 | £4,495.40 | Yes, see below |
| Scottish Carer Supplement | £11.70 | £608.40 | No |
| Carer Additional Person Payment, each extra person | £10.40 | £540.80 | No |
Caring for one person, that's £98.15 a week with the supplement, or about £5,104 a year. The supplement replaced the old twice yearly Carer's Allowance Supplement, so it now comes with every payment instead.
Carer support payment eligibility
To get it you need to:
- be 16 or over
- usually live in Scotland
- give unpaid care for 35 hours or more a week
- take home no more than £204 a week if you work
The person you look after also has to get a disability benefit at the right rate. The daily living part of Adult Disability Payment is one of them. Social Security Scotland keeps the full list.
What counts as caring
It has to be unpaid, as family or a friend. Paid care work and volunteering through a charity don't count. Plenty of people never think of themselves as carers. If you're keeping someone safe, getting them through a mental health crisis, or helping them wash, dress and eat, that's caring.
The earnings limit
Your take home pay can't be more than £204 a week. That's about £884 a month or £10,608 a year, after tax, and some allowed expenses. If your pay goes up and down they can average it out, so one big week doesn't knock you off.
Caring for more than one person
If you also look after someone else for 20 hours a week or more, you can get the Carer Additional Person Payment of £10.40 a week for each extra person. The hours can overlap with the time you spend on the first person.
How it fits with other benefits
The supplement and the additional person payment don't touch anything else. Carer Support Payment itself does. The counts it as income for and other income related benefits, and if you get State Pension it can reduce or stop it. A benefits check before you apply is worth ten minutes.
How to apply for carer support payment
- Online through mygov.scot. One form covers all three payments.
- By phone on 0800 182 2222, 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays.
- On a paper form, which they'll post out to you.
Two people can't both get Carer Support Payment for caring for the same person. If a couple care for their child together, only one gets it. The other might still get the additional person payment.
When you're paid
Every four weeks, at the end of the four weeks. Bank holidays move the date forward, and the payment dates page lists the Christmas ones. If you're aged 16 to 19 and care for fewer hours, the Young Carer Grant might suit you better.
Check if you can apply
mygov.scot has a short checker that asks your age, where you live, your caring hours and what you earn. It isn't an application, so there's nothing to lose.
Carer Support Payment on mygov.scot
