Rate check: 3 September 2026. This guide covers England only and is for general information, not financial or legal advice. We cite official GOV.UK, NHS and council sources so you can check the numbers yourself.
If you are arranging care for a parent, the annual rate changes can be hard to follow. Some figures change in April. Some change in July. Some stay frozen for years. And some council-rate data is published later than families naturally expect.
For 2026/27, the headline is mixed. NHS-funded nursing care has increased. Attendance Allowance has increased. The Personal Expenses Allowance has increased. But the main care home means-test capital thresholds are still frozen at £14,250 and £23,250.
There is also an awkward data gap. The latest national GOV.UK provider-fees dataset we can currently verify is still the MSIF 2025/26 release. GOV.UK guidance says fee-rate reporting for 2026/27 is moving into the Single Data List, with final 2026/27 fee rates collected around May 2027.
That matters because families often use council rates to understand whether a care home quote is reasonable. The numbers are useful, but you need to know which year each number belongs to.
The 2026/27 rates at a glance
| Area | 2026/27 position | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| NHS-funded nursing care standard rate | £267.68/week from 1 April 2026 | Reduces nursing home fees when the person needs registered nursing care but does not qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare. |
| NHS-funded nursing care higher rate | £368.24/week from 1 April 2026 | Applies only to a small group who were already on the previous high band before 1 October 2007. |
| Attendance Allowance lower rate | £76.70/week | May help people paying privately, but rules change once local authority funding or NHS CHC applies. |
| Attendance Allowance higher rate | £114.60/week | Worth checking before assuming the whole care bill must come from savings. |
| Upper capital limit | £23,250 | Above this, most people pay the full cost of care themselves. |
| Lower capital limit | £14,250 | Below this, capital is not used to calculate tariff income. |
| Personal Expenses Allowance | £31.80/week | The minimum amount a local authority-supported care home resident must be left for personal spending. |
| Deferred Payment Agreement interest | 4.65% from 1 July to 31 December 2026 | Many councils apply the national maximum, reviewed on 1 January and 1 July. |
| National council provider-fees dataset | Latest public GOV.UK release is MSIF 2025/26 | Use it as the latest comparable national benchmark, but mark it clearly as 2025/26. |
The practical lesson is simple: do not mix rates from different years in the same calculation. A funding estimate using 2026/27 benefits but 2025/26 council provider fees may still be useful, but it should say so plainly.
What changed in April 2026
The clearest April change is NHS-funded nursing care, often shortened to FNC.
FNC is not the same as NHS Continuing Healthcare. CHC can cover the full eligible care package where there is a primary health need. FNC is narrower: it is a flat weekly contribution paid by the NHS directly to the nursing home for registered nursing care.
From 1 April 2026, the standard FNC rate in England is £267.68 per week. The higher rate is £368.24 per week for people who remain entitled to the old high band.
For a family comparing nursing home fees, that £267.68 matters. If a nursing home quotes £1,500 per week and FNC applies, ask whether the quote is gross of FNC or net of FNC.
The wording on invoices is not always obvious. Some homes show the full fee and then deduct FNC. Others quote the resident contribution after FNC. You want to compare like with like.
Attendance Allowance also changed for 2026/27. GOV.UK lists the lower rate at £76.70 per week and the higher rate at £114.60 per week. If you have not applied yet, our Attendance Allowance guide covers eligibility and how a claim interacts with care funding.
Attendance Allowance is not means-tested. Savings do not stop someone claiming it. But care home funding rules can affect whether it continues, especially when the local authority starts funding or when NHS Continuing Healthcare applies.
That makes it a useful planning number, not a number to assume forever.
What stayed frozen
The most important frozen figures are the capital thresholds for the care home means test.
For 2026/27 in England, the upper capital limit remains £23,250 and the lower capital limit remains £14,250.
That means a person with assessable capital above £23,250 is usually treated as a self-funder. Between £14,250 and £23,250, the council applies tariff income. Below £14,250, capital is not used for tariff income, although income is still assessed.
Tariff income is still calculated as £1 per week for every £250, or part of £250, above the lower capital limit.
Here is a simple example.
| Assessable capital | Amount above £14,250 | Tariff income |
|---|---|---|
| £16,250 | £2,000 | £8/week |
| £20,000 | £5,750 | £23/week |
| £23,250 | £9,000 | £36/week |
These thresholds have been frozen for a long time. For families, the effect is blunt: ordinary house values and modest savings can still push someone into self-funding.
The Personal Expenses Allowance did increase. For 2026/27, it is £31.80 per week. This is the minimum amount a local authority-supported care home resident should keep for personal spending.
It is not meant to pay for care already included in the council-arranged package. It is for personal items such as toiletries, small gifts, phone costs or a haircut.
The council-rate data gap
Council fee rates are where 2026/27 gets more delicate.
GOV.UK published the MSIF 2025/26 provider-fees dataset on 21 August 2025. It includes local authority fee rates for care homes and other adult social care services.
As of 3 September 2026, we have not found a separate GOV.UK provider-fees publication for 2026/27.
That does not mean councils have no 2026/27 rates. Many councils publish their own local uplift letters, market position statements or fee schedules. Manchester, Oxfordshire, Sandwell and other councils have public 2026/27 material.
But there is a difference between individual council pages and a comparable national dataset.
The official MSIF final reporting guidance says 2026/27 fee-rate reporting is moving to the Single Data List. It also says final 2026/27 fee rates are expected to be collected around May 2027.
For families, this creates a practical rule.
Use local 2026/27 council pages where they exist. Use the national MSIF 2025/26 dataset as the latest comparable benchmark. Do not describe MSIF 2025/26 as a 2026/27 rate.
That is exactly how we handle this in RightCareHome calculations: local authority MSIF data is useful, but public caveats need to be clear until the next national publication appears.
Why the council-rate number matters
Council rates are not the same as private care home fees.
A self-funding family may be quoted £1,300, £1,600 or more per week. The local authority may pay a lower rate for a similar type of placement.
That gap matters in three situations.
First, it affects negotiation. A council benchmark gives you a reference point when a quote feels high.
Second, it affects top-up fees. If the council agrees to fund care but the preferred home costs more than the council will usually pay, a third party may be asked to pay the difference. Our top-up fees guide explains who can pay and what the contract should say.
Third, it affects runway planning. A family paying privately needs to know what happens when savings approach £23,250 and the council becomes involved.
None of this means the cheapest home is best. It means price should be compared against care needs, local options, FNC, council funding and contract terms.
A worked example
Imagine a parent is moving into a nursing home in England.
The home quotes £1,500 per week. The parent appears likely to qualify for standard NHS-funded nursing care, but not full NHS Continuing Healthcare.
If the £1,500 quote is before FNC, the NHS contribution of £267.68 may reduce the resident-funded part to £1,232.32 per week.
If the £1,500 quote is already after FNC, the family should not subtract it again.
Over a year, that distinction is worth £13,919.36.
Now add the means test.
If the parent has £35,000 in assessable savings, they are above the £23,250 upper capital limit and will usually self-fund.
If savings fall towards £23,250, the family should contact the local authority before the money runs out. Waiting until the account is almost empty can create avoidable pressure.
The council may then assess income, capital, care needs and the available local placements. If the current home charges more than the council will normally pay, a top-up discussion may follow.
Five checks before relying on any rate
Check the date. A number may be correct for 2025/26 but wrong for 2026/27.
Check the geography. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different care funding systems.
Check whether the number is gross or net of FNC. This is one of the easiest ways to misread a nursing home quote.
Check whether the person is self-funding, council-funded or NHS-funded. The same benefit can be treated differently depending on the funding route.
Check whether the council rate is a local 2026/27 schedule or the national MSIF 2025/26 dataset. Both can be useful, but they answer different questions.
What to do next
If you are comparing care homes now, start with three numbers.
The first is the quoted weekly fee from the home, in writing.
The second is the likely funding route: self-funding, council support, NHS-funded nursing care or NHS Continuing Healthcare.
The third is the best available local council benchmark for the type of care needed.
Those three numbers will not make the decision for you. But they will stop the decision being made in the dark.
RightCareHome's Care Home Funding Report combines the care home means test, NHS Continuing Healthcare screening, DPA suitability and council-rate context in one place.
You can also start with a free funding check if you are not sure which route applies.
Sources checked
- GOV.UK: Social care charging for local authorities 2026 to 2027
- GOV.UK: Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027
- NHS: NHS-funded nursing care
- GOV.UK: MSIF provider fee reporting 2025 to 2026
- GOV.UK: MSIF final reporting template and Single Data List note
- GOV.UK: Council Tax levels in England 2026 to 2027
- Reading Borough Council: Deferred Payment Agreement interest rates