The Fair Deal scheme — officially the Nursing Homes Support Scheme — helps people meet the cost of long-term nursing home care. Many people defer part of that cost during their lifetime through the Nursing Home Loan. After they die, that deferred amount becomes a debt the estate has to settle before it can be distributed, which makes it an important part of the probate process.
This guide looks at Fair Deal purely as an estate matter, after a death. It explains how the deferred contribution becomes payable, the charge registered against the home, the 3-year cap that limits the amount, and how all of this fits with applying for a grant and distributing the estate. If you are the executor or next of kin, this is the part of Fair Deal that now falls to you.
What Fair Deal becomes after death
After death, Fair Deal becomes a single question for the estate: how much of the care cost was deferred, and how is it repaid? The income-based contribution the person paid while in care is gone and is not repaid. What remains is the asset-based contribution they chose to postpone through the Nursing Home Loan.
The Nursing Home Loan lets a person defer the part of their contribution based on land or property, rather than paying it as they go. The HSE advances that money to the nursing home, and it is collected later from the estate. For the executor or administrator — the person responsible for settling the estate — the loan is the figure that has to be confirmed and repaid before distribution can finish.
You repay the loan to the Revenue Commissioners, not to the nursing home or directly to the HSE. The HSE confirms the amount and holds the loan account; Revenue collects the payment. Keeping the loan in mind as a debt of the estate, payable to Revenue, is the simplest way to keep the administration on track.
How the deferred contribution was calculated
To understand what the estate owes, it helps to see how the contribution built up. Under Fair Deal, a person contributes a percentage of their income and a percentage of the value of their assets each year. The rates differ depending on whether the person was assessed as a single person or as a member of a couple.
A single person
80% of assessable income
7.5% of asset value per year
€36,000
A member of a couple
40% of combined assessable income
3.75% of combined asset value per year
€72,000
Fair Deal financial assessment rates. The asset contribution is the part that can be deferred through the Nursing Home Loan. Source: HSE.
| Assessed as | Income contribution | Asset contribution | Assets not counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| A single person | 80% of assessable income | 7.5% of asset value per year | €36,000 |
| A member of a couple | 40% of combined assessable income | 3.75% of combined asset value per year | €72,000 |
The asset contribution is the part that most often lands in the estate's lap, because the family home is usually the largest asset. Where the person used the loan, the home contribution was not paid during their lifetime — it accumulated and now sits against the estate as the amount due.
The 3-year cap: why the home charge is limited
The 3-year cap limits how much the family home can be charged. Fair Deal counts the principal private residence in the financial assessment for a maximum of three years. After three years in care, the home stops being counted, no matter how long care continues.
Because the home is assessed at 7.5% a year for at most three years, the contribution based on it cannot exceed 22.5% of its value for a single person (7.5% × 3). For a member of a couple, whose rate is 3.75% a year, the cap works out at 11.25% per partner (3.75% × 3). This is the ceiling on what the estate can owe in respect of the home.
Principal private residence (the family home)
3 years
22.5% single / 11.25% per partner
Applies automatically
A farm or relevant business
3 years
22.5% single / 11.25% per partner
Only if you apply and conditions are met
Cash and other assets
No cap
7.5% single / 3.75% per partner, for as long as care continues
Not subject to the 3-year cap
The 3-year cap limits the contribution on the home, and on a qualifying farm or business. Cash and other assets are not capped. Source: HSE.
| Asset | How long it is counted | Maximum contribution | How the cap applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principal private residence (the family home) | 3 years | 22.5% single / 11.25% per partner | Applies automatically |
| A farm or relevant business | 3 years | 22.5% single / 11.25% per partner | Only if you apply and conditions are met |
| Cash and other assets | No cap | 7.5% single / 3.75% per partner, for as long as care continues | Not subject to the 3-year cap |
The charge on the home
When a person takes the Nursing Home Loan, they give written consent to a Charging Order being registered against the property. Section 17 of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009 makes the loan a charge against the land. In practice it works like a simple mortgage: it secures the money the HSE advanced.
For an estate, the practical effect is that the property cannot be sold or transferred with clear title until the loan is repaid and the charge is released. This is why the loan has to be dealt with as part of administration rather than left to one side. It directly affects selling a house during probate.
The charge does not force a sale, however. The scheme was designed so that the home does not have to be sold to fund care. After death the loan still has to be repaid, but the beneficiaries — the people who inherit — can settle it from other assets or refinance it and keep the home, if they have the means to do so. Where the home is the main asset, a sale is often the practical route. We look at this in more depth in our guide to the family home after a death.
When the loan must be repaid
The Nursing Home Loan has firm repayment deadlines, and missing them adds interest. The deadline depends on what triggers repayment — the person's death, or a sale of the charged property during their lifetime. The table below shows both.
The person in care dies
Within 12 months of the date of death
Interest applies from the date of death if not repaid within 12 months
The charged property is sold or transferred during the person's lifetime
Within 6 months of the sale or transfer
Interest applies from 6 months after the sale or transfer
Repayment deadlines for the Nursing Home Loan. After death, the loan is repaid to the Revenue Commissioners. Source: HSE.
| What triggers repayment | Deadline | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| The person in care dies | Within 12 months of the date of death | Interest applies from the date of death if not repaid within 12 months |
| The charged property is sold or transferred during the person's lifetime | Within 6 months of the sale or transfer | Interest applies from 6 months after the sale or transfer |
For an estate, the deadline that matters is the 12 months after death. Repaying within that window keeps interest off the balance. Because confirming the figure and applying for a grant both take time, it is worth starting on the loan early in the administration rather than leaving it until the estate is otherwise ready to distribute.
What the executor or administrator needs to do
Dealing with a Fair Deal loan runs alongside the normal probate steps. These five stages take you from confirming the loan to releasing the charge.
Confirm whether the Nursing Home Loan was used
Not everyone on Fair Deal took the loan. Some paid their asset contribution as they went. Check the person's Fair Deal paperwork, ask the HSE Nursing Homes Support Scheme office, or look for a Charging Order registered against the home. If a loan was taken, a balance will be owed by the estate and you will need the figure before you can finalise accounts.
Establish the amount owed
The amount is the deferred asset contribution that built up while the person was in care, subject to the 3-year cap on the family home, farm, or relevant business. Contact the HSE Nursing Homes Support Scheme office to request the outstanding figure. You cannot safely distribute the estate until you know what is owed, because the debt is secured against the property.
Value the estate and apply for the grant
Value the assets and liabilities as at the date of death. Then apply for the Grant of Probate (or Letters of Administration if there was no will) — the court document that gives you authority to manage the estate. Treat the Fair Deal loan as a debt of the estate when you prepare the figures. For how valuation works in practice, see our guide to valuing an estate for probate.
Notify the HSE before distributing
Before you pay out to beneficiaries (the people who inherit), you must send the HSE a schedule of the estate's assets and a written notice of your intention to distribute. You must do this at least three months before distribution. This is a legal requirement under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009. It gives the HSE time to confirm the amount owed before anyone receives their share.
Repay the loan to Revenue within 12 months
Repay the Nursing Home Loan to the Revenue Commissioners within 12 months of the date of death. After that deadline, interest runs from the date of death. Paying on time keeps interest off the balance, lets you release the charge on the property, and clears the way for final distribution.
Notifying the HSE before you distribute
Before paying out to anyone who inherits, you must send the HSE a schedule of the deceased's assets and a written notice that you intend to distribute. This must happen at least three months before distribution. The requirement comes from the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009, and it gives the HSE time to confirm what is owed before the estate is paid out.
The good news is that the asset schedule overlaps heavily with the figures you already prepare for Revenue's probate paperwork. The key is timing: build the three-month notice into your plan early, so the final distribution is not held up at the last moment.
Fair Deal and inheritance tax
The Fair Deal loan is a debt of the estate, secured against the property. As a debt, it generally reduces the net value that passes to beneficiaries before Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) — the Irish tax on inheritances — is calculated. A smaller net estate can mean a smaller CAT bill for those who inherit.
How the loan interacts with CAT and with any available reliefs depends on the specific facts: what the asset is, and who inherits it. A tax advisor can review this before you finalise figures — it is often worth the cost.
Where Fair Deal estates get complicated
Most Fair Deal estates are straightforward once the loan figure is confirmed and repaid. A few situations need closer attention, usually because the charged asset is hard to turn into cash or because more than one rule interacts.
If any of these apply, it is usually worth getting the estate reviewed before you commit to a plan. You can start with a quick assessment to see what your estate needs, or call us on (01) 578 1570 if you would prefer to talk it through first.
Explore Fair Deal and the estate in detail
This pillar gives you the full picture. The guides below go deeper into the parts that most often come up when you are administering an estate that used the Fair Deal scheme.
- Repaying the Nursing Home Loan on death — how the deferred contribution is confirmed, repaid to Revenue, and the 12-month deadline.
- The Fair Deal charge on the house — what the Charging Order means for title, and how to release it.
- Selling the home to repay Fair Deal — when a sale is needed, and the timeline and tax points to plan for.