Carers allowance help

[Mich1986]

My primary aged daughter has adhd and autism, we claim DLA for her.
I’ve had to cut down my work hours as she refuses and can’t cope in breakfast clubs or after school clubs. I now work 15 hours a week, earning around £230 a week before tax. My partner works full time.
Would I be able to claim carers allowance or does it not work like that if it’s your child?

People caring for disabled children in receipt of MRC or HRC DLA can claim carer’s allowance.

In order to be eligible for carer’s allowance you need to have earnings of £196 or less per week after tax, NI and certain expenses (e.g. 50% of pension contributions).

You might be on the cusp of the carers allowance amount after tax - we need your take home figure to advise really because you could be paying any amount into pensions/NI codes etc

Take home is approx 920 a month. Does my partners salary come in to it though? I am the one that cut my work hours down and does most of the care for her. Thanks x

Your DH’s income isn’t relevant.

Carer’s allowance isn’t based on take home pay. It is based on earnings after tax, NI and certain expenses. You need to earn £196pw or less after tax, NI and certain expenses.

There are some deductions from gross pay that aren’t disregarded for CA purposes. For example, student loan repayments.

There are some expenses from people’s net pay that are disregarded e.g. the cost of care for DC/the person cared for whilst working as long as it is ≤50% of your wages or 50% of pension contributions if you pay in to a private pension.

So just knowing net pay doesn’t tell you if you are eligible for CA.

You may be entitled to universal credit with carers element and a disabled child element. You can earn more than the carers amount but your partners wage may wipe out any entitlement . How much you can get depends on your household income though so is worth checking on entitled to.