# NHS Low Income Scheme: help with prescriptions, dental, eye and travel costs > The NHS Low Income Scheme can pay some or all of certain NHS costs for people with limited income and savings. This guide explains what it covers… - URL: https://centiview.com/uk-money/nhs-low-income-scheme-help-with-health-costs - Published: 2026-10-20T02:16:00.000Z - Figures checked: 2026-10-20 - Edited by David A - Topic: Benefits & Support (UK) - Publisher: Centiview (Persie Ltd, London) - General information only, not financial advice The NHS Low Income Scheme can pay some or all of certain NHS costs for people with limited income and savings. This guide explains what it covers, how help is worked out, the savings limits and how refunds work. ## What the scheme is and what it covers The NHS Low Income Scheme is a means-tested scheme, meaning help depends on your income, your essential outgoings and your savings. It is run by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). According to NHS.uk and the NHSBSA, it can help with NHS prescription charges, NHS dental treatment charges, sight tests, glasses and contact lenses, travel to receive NHS treatment, and NHS wigs and fabric supports (wig help may depend on your hospital's arrangements). The scheme is separate from the benefits system: you do not have to be claiming a benefit to apply, and the assessment looks at housing costs and Council Tax as well as income, so someone can qualify even if their income is too high for a means-tested benefit. Help can extend to a partner and to dependent young people. ## The two certificates: HC2 and HC3 If you qualify, you receive one of two certificates. An HC2 certificate gives full help with health costs, including free NHS prescriptions. NHS.uk explains that HC2 applies when your weekly income is at or below your weekly requirements, or above them by no more than half the current NHS prescription charge. An HC3 certificate gives partial help: you pay a set amount towards each cost, and the amount is shown on the certificate. Certificates are usually valid for between 6 months and 5 years, depending on your circumstances, and when one ends a new application is needed. NHSBSA says applications are usually assessed within 18 working days of receipt, so it can be worth allowing time rather than waiting until a bill falls due. > **Key numbers** Savings limit £16,000 (£23,250 if living permanently in a care home in England; £24,000 in Wales). Online applications not available above £6,000 of savings, investments or property. Assessment usually within 18 working days. Certificates last 6 months to 5 years. Figures checked 20 October 2026 on NHSBSA and NHS.uk. ## Who it applies to: income, needs and savings The NHSBSA compares your weekly needs with your weekly income. Needs include a personal allowance, premiums for disability or certain benefit components, housing costs and Council Tax. Income includes earnings after tax, National Insurance and half of any pension contributions, plus benefits, pensions and student support. If income is the same as or below needs, full help is possible; if it is higher you may get partial help; if it is much higher you will not. If income is below needs, you may be asked for evidence of how you pay essential bills. Separately, you cannot qualify if you or your partner have more than £16,000 in savings, investments or property, not counting the home you live in. Counted assets include ISAs, Lifetime ISAs, trusts, cryptoassets, Premium Bonds, shares, overseas accounts and property you do not live in, and debts are not deducted. - You or your partner receiving income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or Universal Credit (where you meet the criteria) already gives full help, so no application is needed. - People living permanently in a care home have a higher capital limit: £23,250 in England and £24,000 in Wales. - People who cannot apply online, such as those with over £6,000 of savings, anyone living in Northern Ireland, students whose partner lives with them, or people with no income, use the alternative route described on the NHSBSA site. ## A worked example The following figures are illustrative only. Suppose a couple have £9,000 in a savings account, £5,500 in a stocks and shares ISA and £2,000 in Premium Bonds. The total is £9,000 + £5,500 + £2,000 = £16,500. That is £500 above the £16,000 limit, so on the capital test alone they could not qualify, whatever their income. Now suppose another household has savings well under the limit, weekly needs of £185 and weekly income of £180. Income is £5 below needs, which points towards full help (an HC2), although the NHSBSA may ask for evidence of how essential bills are paid. If income were £190, it would be £5 above needs, and the outcome would depend on the size of the gap, with either an HC2 or an HC3 possible. These figures do not reflect real allowances and are not a prediction of any outcome. ## Refunds and common mistakes If you have already paid for treatment, you can claim the money back, and NHS.uk says a refund claim can be sent at the same time as your application. Claims must be received within 3 months of the payment date, or within 3 months of your sight test. For example, a prescription charge paid on 12 January would need a claim to arrive by about 12 April. Prescription refunds use form FP57 (which needs the NHS receipt), and other charges use the relevant HC5 form. Common mistakes include assuming a benefit award means you must apply (some benefits already give full help), forgetting that ISAs, Premium Bonds and cryptoassets count towards savings, and leaving it too late for a refund. If you think a decision is wrong, the NHSBSA says you can ask for a review by phone on 0300 330 1343, by email or by post. ## Which parts of the UK this covers The NHSBSA and NHS.uk pages read for this guide give figures for England and Wales, and the care-home limit differs in Wales. The NHSBSA says people in Northern Ireland cannot apply online. Scotland was not covered on the pages read, and health costs and prescription charges differ between the four nations, so readers in Scotland and Northern Ireland can check with NHS Inform, the NHSBSA helpline and their own health department about what applies locally. This guide does not set out what each nation charges for prescriptions, dental care or eye tests. ## Where to get free help Free, impartial help with forms and evidence is available from Citizens Advice. The NHSBSA helpline for the Low Income Scheme is 0300 330 1343 (NHS.uk lists Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 3pm). Paper forms can be obtained from a Jobcentre Plus office, an NHS hospital, a doctor, dentist or optician. This guide is general information, not advice, and cannot say whether any individual qualifies. It applies to people on a low income who use NHS services in the countries covered by the schemes described, and not to those who already receive an automatic entitlement or whose savings exceed the limit. ## Check before you act Limits, forms and eligibility rules can change, so confirm the details on the official pages linked below before making any decision or claim. ### Sources - [NHS Business Services Authority: NHS Low Income Scheme: <](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme>) - [NHS.uk: NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS): <](https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/nhs-low-income-scheme-lis/>) - [GOV.UK: Help with NHS costs: <](https://www.gov.uk/help-nhs-costs>)