NHS Low Income Scheme checker
A guide to whether you might qualify for full or partial help with NHS costs through the Low Income Scheme, by comparing your weekly income with your everyday needs.
How it works
The Low Income Scheme is a means test run by the NHS Business Services Authority. When you apply on form HC1 they work out your weekly requirements from standard allowances for you, a partner, any children, your rent or mortgage interest and your council tax, then compare that with your weekly income. If your income is at or below those requirements you are likely to get an HC2 certificate for full help. If it is a little above, you may still get an HC3 for partial help, which caps what you pay rather than removing charges. There is also a capital test: savings above the limit usually rule you out.
This tool mirrors that logic in simplified form. You enter your weekly income, a rough figure for your essential costs as a stand-in for the official requirements, and your savings. It then flags whether full help, partial help or no help looks likely, and checks your capital against the limit. Because the real assessment uses precise allowances that this cannot know, the result is guidance to help you decide whether an application is worth the effort, not the answer itself.
Worked example
Take someone with £260 a week coming in, essential costs of about £250, and £3,000 in savings. Their income is only slightly above their needs and their capital is well under the limit, so the guide points to partial help through an HC3. On those figures it is clearly worth applying, because even partial help caps prescription, dental and eye-care costs, and a small change in rent or income could tip the assessment into full help.
Common questions
What is the NHS Low Income Scheme?
It is a scheme for people on a low income who do not get a qualifying benefit. You apply on form HC1, and the NHS compares your income to your assessed needs. A successful claim gives either an HC2 certificate for full help or an HC3 certificate for partial help with NHS costs.
What is the difference between HC2 and HC3?
An HC2 certificate gives full help, so NHS prescriptions, dental treatment, sight tests and some travel costs are free. An HC3 gives partial help: it shows the most you have to pay towards each item, so you may still pay something but never more than the amount stated.
How much savings can I have?
Savings and other capital above £16,000 usually rule out help, whatever your income. The limit is higher, £24,000, if you live permanently in a care home. Capital below the limit does not stop a claim.
Does this tool decide my claim?
No. This is a guide to whether it is worth applying, not the assessment. The NHS Business Services Authority works out your exact requirements using set allowances for you, a partner, children, rent and council tax, then compares them with your income. Only they can decide the outcome.
What else does the scheme help with?
As well as prescriptions and dental charges, an HC2 or HC3 can help with NHS sight tests and glasses, wigs and fabric supports, and necessary travel to hospital for NHS treatment. It is worth claiming even if you mainly want help with one of these.