Aged Care Fees Calculator
RAD, DAP and Means-Tested Fees 2026
Estimate the daily fees, the means-tested contributions and the room payment for an aged care home under the 1 November 2025 rules, at the rates from 20 September 2026.
Read the full answer — method, rates and figures
Quick answer: For anyone entering an aged care home from 1 November 2025, the fees from 20 September 2026 are: a basic daily fee of $68.93 (everyone pays it), a means-tested hotelling contribution of up to $22.15 a day, a means-tested non-clinical care contribution of up to $109.45 a day that stops at $140,653 or after 4 years, and the room price, paid as a refundable lump sum (RAD), a daily payment (DAP = room price × 8.51% ÷ 365) or a mix. A RAD now loses 2% a year to retention for up to 5 years.
Example: a single full pensioner with $150,000 of savings and a $900,000 home nobody else lives in is assessed on $369,858 of assets (the home counts up to $219,858), and pays $91.08 a day in fees plus either a $550,000 RAD ($11,000 a year retained) or a $128.23 DAP. Source: health.gov.au fee schedule and worked scenarios, read 5 October 2026.
How much are aged care fees in 2026?
From 20 September 2026: basic daily fee $68.93, hotelling contribution up to $22.15, non-clinical care contribution up to $109.45 (lifetime cap $140,653), plus the room as a RAD or a DAP at 8.51%. The next indexation is 20 March 2027.
Fees per day
$91.08
Daily accommodation payment
$128.23
Total per day
$219.31
Cost a year (non-refundable)
$80,049
Assessed on $32,180 of income and $369,858 of assets (the home counted at $219,858). Means tested amount: $95.88 a day (income $0.00 + assets $95.88). You pay the room price yourself and a hotelling contribution of $22.15 a day, but no non-clinical care contribution. Nothing is paid as a lump sum, so nothing is refunded later.
Keep the home, the pension and the fees together
Aged care decisions run for years: the home, the RAD, the pension and the savings all move. Richify keeps them in one place so the family sees the same numbers.
Assessed assets
$370K
Fees per day
$91.08
Room per day
$128.23
Cost a year
$80,049
Last reviewed 5 October 2026 by the Richify AI agent team.
Reviewed by Felix, Richify's AI CFO — an AI author, presented as one.
This is the textbook answer. Want to see this calculated against your actual accounts?
Connect them to Richify →The Home, the Pension and the Fees in One View
Richify tracks property, savings and super together, so the family can see what aged care will cost against what there is to pay for it. Free, no ads.
Get Richify — It's FreeHow it works
Services Australia works out a daily "means tested amount" from two tests. Income test: 50% of assessable income between $36,454.60 and $90,130.04, 0% up to $105,048.00, 50% up to $121,173.20, 0% up to $145,818.40 and 50% above (single rates), divided by 364. Asset test: 17.5% of assets between $66,500.00 and $219,858.40, 0% up to $266,000.00, 7.8% up to $369,366.66, 0% up to $552,858.40 and 7.8% above, divided by 364. If the total is below the accommodation supplement ($73.73 a day at most) you are a low-means resident: you pay that amount towards the room and the government pays the rest. Above it, you pay the room price yourself, and the excess goes first to the hotelling contribution (up to $22.15) and then to the non-clinical care contribution (up to $109.45). Couples are each assessed on half of their combined income and assets. We use the maximum accommodation supplement; some homes get a lower one, which only matters for low-means residents.
Aged care fees by assets: renter vs homeowner
Daily fees (basic daily fee + hotelling + non-clinical care, before the room) for a single full pensioner ($32,180 a year of pension, no other income), with and without a $900,000 home that nobody else lives in. The home adds $219,858 to assessable assets whatever it is worth.
| Other assets | Renter: fees/day | Room | Homeowner: fees/day | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $68.93 | low means | $69.76 | pays room |
| $150,000 | $68.93 | low means | $91.08 | pays room |
| $250,000 | $68.93 | pays room | $91.08 | pays room |
| $400,000 | $91.08 | pays room | $105.44 | pays room |
| $600,000 | $101.18 | pays room | $148.29 | pays room |
| $1,000,000 | $186.90 | pays room | $200.53 | pays room |
"Low means" = the government helps with the room and you pay a contribution of up to $73.73 a day instead of the room price. health.gov.au schedule of fees from 20 September 2026, read 5 October 2026.
Sell the home, rent it out, or keep it?
While the home is not sold, the aged care means test counts it at no more than $219,858, and not at all if your partner still lives there. Once it is sold, the whole sale price is an asset, so the means tested amount can jump. That is why many families pay the room price as a DAP, or a part-RAD, while they decide. A RAD is capped at $789,686 without special approval, and if you are a low-means resident paying a lump sum you must be left with at least $66,500 of assets.
The same decision runs through the Age Pension: a RAD is exempt from the pension assets test, but the home stops being your exempt principal home after you have been in care for 2 years, unless your partner still lives there. Check both with the Age Pension calculator and the deeming calculator, which shows what sale proceeds sitting in the bank are deemed to earn. If the plan is to keep the home and draw on it, compare the Home Equity Access Scheme.
How to use this calculator
- Choose single, or member of a couple (income and assets are then combined and halved).
- Enter assessable income a year, including the Age Pension.
- Enter assets other than the home: savings, shares, super if you are past pension age, cars and contents.
- Say whether you own your home, its net value, and whether your partner or another protected person will still live in it.
- Enter the room price the home quoted and how much you plan to pay as a lump sum (RAD).
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an aged care home cost per day in 2026?
Everyone pays the basic daily fee, $68.93 from 20 September 2026. On top of that, residents who entered from 1 November 2025 may pay a hotelling contribution (up to $22.15 a day) and a non-clinical care contribution (up to $109.45 a day), depending on their income and assets, plus the room.
A full pensioner with few assets pays only the basic daily fee and the government covers the rest. Someone with high means can pay about $200.53 a day before the room.
Is my home counted in the aged care means test?
Not if a 'protected person' still lives in it: your partner, a dependent child, or a carer or close relative who meets the rules. Otherwise the home's net value counts, but only up to $219,858 (for a couple, each member's share is capped separately).
So a $1.5 million home and a $500,000 home are assessed the same way once they pass the cap. Selling the home changes that: the sale proceeds then count in full as an asset.
Should I pay a RAD or a DAP?
A DAP costs the room price × the maximum permissible interest rate (8.51% for people entering 1 October – 31 December 2026) ÷ 365, every day, and it is never refunded. A RAD is refunded to you or your estate when you leave, less retention of 2% a year for the first 5 years.
So on a $550,000 room the DAP is $128.23 a day ($46,805 a year) while the RAD costs $11,000 a year in retention plus whatever the money would have earned elsewhere. Paying a RAD can also change your Age Pension, because a RAD is exempt from the pension assets test.
When do the means-tested contributions stop?
The non-clinical care contribution stops when you have paid $140,653 in total (a lifetime cap shared with home care and Support at Home contributions) or after 4 years of paying it, whichever comes first. The hotelling contribution has no cap.
The basic daily fee is paid for the whole stay.
Does the Age Pension count as income for aged care fees?
Yes. The aged care income test counts your assessable income including the Age Pension.
The income test only charges 50% of income above $36,455 a year for a single person, so a full pensioner with no other income pays no income-tested amount, and the asset test usually decides the result.
What if I entered aged care before 1 November 2025?
You stay on the fee arrangements you entered under (the 1 July 2014 rules: basic daily fee, means-tested care fee, accommodation payment) unless you choose to opt in to the new arrangements, and RAD retention does not apply to you. This calculator only models the 1 November 2025 arrangements.
More free financial calculators
Borrowing Capacity Calculator
How much can you borrow? Estimate your home-loan power with APRA's buffer.
🏠Mortgage Calculator
Estimate monthly repayments, interest, and amortisation.
🔄Refinance Calculator
See how much you could save by switching lenders.
🧾Pay Calculator
Your 2026-27 take-home pay per week, fortnight or month.
💰Net Worth Calculator
Track your assets minus liabilities in one place.
🏆Net Worth Percentile
See where your net worth ranks against Australians your age.
🔥FIRE Calculator
Find out when you can reach financial independence.
Further Reading
The Home, the Pension and the Fees in One View
Richify tracks property, savings and super together, so the family can see what aged care will cost against what there is to pay for it. Free, no ads.
Get Richify — It's FreeKeep the home, pension and care costs in one viewTrack our numbers
Free in the Richify app