Fair Deal Advice Blog

How to Apply for Financial Help with Long-Term Care in Ireland

The Fair Deal scheme is designed to ensure that people who need long-term nursing home care can access it without financially devastating their families in the process. This guide explains what financial help actually means under the scheme, how the application process works, and what you need to know before you begin.

What “Financial Help” Actually Means Under the Fair Deal Scheme

The Nursing Home Support Scheme (NHSS) /Fair Deal is a state-subsidised cost-sharing arrangement. The resident contributes a portion of their income and assets towards their care. The HSE covers the remaining costs.

In practical terms, that means 80% of assessable weekly income and 7.5% per annum of the value of any assets less €36,000 for a single person , and couples contribute 40% of income and 3.75% of assets less €72,000 per person.

Now, focusing on the key concerns of “financial help”, the scheme also includes several provisions that further actively reduce that contribution. These provisions include the 3-year cap, the rental income exemption, tax relief on the personal contribution, and the Nursing Home Loan Scheme, among other solutions.

As a matter of fact, none of these provisions applies automatically in the way most families assume. Some require a separate application; others require correct disclosure at the right time. This area is where the real financial help lies, and it is worth understanding properly.

Terms and Conditions of Applying for the 3-Year Cap Under the Fair Deal Scheme in Ireland

The 3-year cap limits how long an asset is included in the financial assessment. Once three years have passed, that asset stops attracting the 7.5% annual contribution, no matter how much longer care continues.

For the principal home, this cap applies automatically as part of the standard financial assessment. You don’t have to apply for it separately. The maximum contribution is capped at 22.5% of the home’s value (7.5% × 3 years), or 11.25% for each partner of a couple.

However, a farm or business is treated differently. The cap does not apply automatically. It must be applied for, using the dedicated section of the Fair Deal application form. To qualify, several conditions must be met:

• A family successor must be formally appointed through the application — someone aged 18 or over who is a relative of the applicant or their partner.
• The successor must commit to running the farm or business for at least six years from the date they are formally appointed.
• The applicant, their partner, or the proposed successor must have actively worked the farm or business for at least three of the five years before the applicant entered long-term care, with supporting documentation to prove it.
• A charge is placed against the farm or business property in favour of the HSE, which is removed once the successor’s six-year commitment is fulfilled and all conditions have been met.

Expert Fair Deal Scheme advisors in Ireland strongly recommend farm and business owners to apply for the 3-year cap as early as possible. The successor’s six-year clock only starts once they are formally appointed by the HSE. The applicant must already be in care before the HSE can formally appoint them. Delaying the application simply delays the point at which the cap starts working in the family’s favour.

Applying for Tax Exemptions on Your Fair Deal Contribution

Many families using the Fair Deal Scheme in Ireland leave money on the table by failing to claim available tax reliefs. This largely happens because the HSE strictly handles care funding, while tax reliefs and the Fair Deal Loan Scheme (Ancillary State Support) are administered separately by Revenue.

The portion of nursing home fees that the resident or their family actually pays as a personal contribution qualifies for income tax relief at the individual’s marginal rate, up to 40%. This is significantly more generous than standard medical expenses relief, which is capped at 20%.
To claim it, the relevant taxpayer has to go through the following process:

• Log in to Revenue’s my Account.
• Go to the “Review your tax” section.
• Select “Health” expenses and enter the nursing home fees paid for that year.

You can backdate claims for up to four years. This option often results in a meaningful lump-sum refund for families who have been paying for some time without realising that the relief was available.

Where several siblings are jointly contributing to a parent’s care, each sibling claims relief on their share of the contribution at their own marginal rate. And where part of the contribution has been funded through the Nursing Home Loan rather than paid directly, relief is generally claimed once that loan is repaid — either by the individual during their lifetime or by the estate afterwards.

The Nursing Home Loan Scheme: How to Apply

The Nursing Home Loan Scheme in Ireland (formally Ancillary State Support) is an optional element of the Fair Deal Scheme for anyone with property assets. The loan is available on the principal home, land, or business premises held within the State.

Instead of paying the asset-based contribution during their lifetime, the applicant defers it, and the HSE pays this element directly to the nursing home on their behalf. The deferred amount is secured as a charge against the property and is repaid after death, now generally collected through Revenue rather than directly by the HSE.

The loan can be applied for at the same time as the main Fair Deal application, or at any later stage during the person’s time in care. Applying for both together is generally better, as it ensures the loan and core Fair Deal funding are approved from the same date, and approval does not commit you to drawing it down; the loan can simply sit there as an option if it is never needed. Where a partner remains living in the family home, repayment of the loan can be further deferred until they no longer require the property, which protects them from being forced to sell while still living there.

Because property valuation and Land Registry charges are involved, the loan element of an application typically takes longer to process than the standard Fair Deal application—often ten to twelve weeks rather than four to six.

Do You Need a Fair Deal Scheme Advisor in Ireland?

Streamlining the aspect of financial help, the Nursing Home Support Scheme in Ireland involves certain conditions, timing, and paperwork. Missing any of these or applying too late can mean a family pays much more than necessary.

A qualified Fair Deal scheme advisor in Ireland cannot speed up the HSE’s decision-making process. They can, however, ensure that the application is submitted correctly, which will avoid delays in processing the application, and will ensure every provision your family is entitled to is applied for correctly and on time. Fair Deal Advice is a nationwide private and confidential advisory service led by Tom Murray, a qualified Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) with direct experience running a nursing home.

If you would like to understand how the 3-year cap, the rental income exemption, or the Nursing Home Loan applies to your specific circumstances, get in touch with the team or call 086 601 5042.

Frequently Asked Questions: Fair Deal Scheme in Ireland

1. If I have rental income from my family home while I am in a nursing home, does that affect my Fair Deal contribution?

– No, it does not increase your assessed contribution, regardless of the amount you earn as rental income. This exemption applies only to the principal home, though. Rental income from buy-to-let properties is still assessed in the usual way.

2. Am I eligible to apply for the Fair Deal Scheme in Ireland if I don’t yet have a Power of Attorney in place?

– The standard Fair Deal application does not require a EPOA, however if capacity is lost and you are applying for the loan an EPOA or a Decision-Making Representative Order will be required for the loan to be granted. While not directly disqualifying you, the absence of an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) can significantly delay and complicate your Fair Deal Scheme application for those with diminished capacity at the time of applying. If the applicant lacks the capacity to sign their own application and no EPA is in place, a Decision-Making Representative must be appointed through the courts, which incurs additional costs and time.

3. Does the 80% income contribution leave anything for the resident?

– Yes, the 80% contribution is applied to assessable weekly income. Every resident retains a personal allowance of 20% of their weekly income, with a minimum retained amount set at 20% of the contributory State pension, regardless of income level. This allowance is intended to cover personal expenses such as toiletries, clothing, and other day-to-day costs not covered by the scheme. The retained amount is modest, but it is protected.

4. My parent has savings as well as a home; how will both be treated in the financial assessment?

Both are counted as assets under the scheme, but they are treated somewhat differently in practice. Cash savings are subject to a 7.5% annual asset contribution without any cap, meaning the contribution to savings applies for as long as the person is in care. The principal home, by contrast, benefits from the 3-year cap. Savings above a certain threshold can be used to pay the asset contribution directly. If savings are insufficient, the Nursing Home Loan can be used to defer the property contribution. The first €36,000 of assets are exempt for single and widowed persons and €72,000 for couples. When the HSE are calculating the asset contribution these allowances are offset against the cash assets first and any remaining allowances are applied to the property assets.

5. What happens if the nursing home my parent wants is not on the HSE’s approved list?

The Fair Deal Scheme only applies to nursing homes that are registered with HIQA (the Health Information and Quality Authority) and that have a Registered Nursing Home Agreement with the HSE. If your preferred nursing home meets both criteria, it qualifies under the scheme. If it does not, the family would need to fund the care privately.