Paying family to clean or care: does it cut tax?

Paying a relative to clean, garden or care for you doesn't lower your own income tax. Paying the going rate for real work isn't a gift, so it can leave your estate without the 7-year rule.

In the calculator, pay to family is part of your spending. Worked example: someone aged 72 spending £25,000 a year. Your money lasts to 95, with £48,582 left.

True or false

What people say	True or false
Paying family to clean cuts my income tax	False. There's no tax relief for household costs.
Paying the going rate for real work isn't a gift	True, for inheritance tax.
Paying more than the going rate is fine	Risky. The extra can count as a gift.
Money I pay a relative to care for me is tax-free for them	False. It's their income.
They can still get Carer's Allowance	Only if they earn £204 a week or less, after tax and expenses, and care at least 35 hours a week.
Paying my grandchildren's school fees is free of inheritance tax	Only as a regular gift from income, or within the gift allowances.
An interest-free loan to my children is out of my estate	False. The loan still counts until it's written off by deed, and that's a gift.
Paying my child's rent each month from spare income is free of inheritance tax	True, as a regular gift from income.

If you employ someone in your home

• You're usually their employer, even when it's family.
• Minimum wage from April 2026: £12.71 an hour at 21 and over. Family who live with you and share the housework are an exception.
• You register for PAYE if you pay them £96 or more a week.

Care fees

Councils working out care fees can count money given to family as money you still have.