For many families, the biggest barrier to using a care home is cost. It's worth knowing, though, that a stay almost never has to be funded solely from a loved one's pension. The Polish system offers several forms of funding and support that genuinely reduce the burden on a family budget. This article sorts out the most important ones and shows where to start so you don't miss support you're entitled to.
Municipal support for a stay in a DPS
The most common form of support is municipal support for a stay in a social welfare home. The rule is simple: a resident pays at most 70% of their income, such as a pension, and if that isn't enough to cover the full cost, the difference is covered by the family or municipality. When the senior's and their relatives' income is low, the municipality's share can be significant. This mainly applies to public facilities, and its details depend on the family's financial situation.
Care allowance and nursing supplement
People who aren't fully independent can use benefits that partly cover the cost of care. The nursing supplement is available, among others, to people over 75 and those deemed entirely unable to live independently, while the care allowance is paid to people with a disability certificate. These aren't large amounts, but over a year they genuinely ease the budget. We cover them in more detail in our article on benefits and allowances for seniors.
Rehabilitation tax relief
Part of the expenses related to caring for a person with a disability can be deducted from income tax through rehabilitation tax relief. This covers, among other things, some care and stay costs, provided the conditions set out in the regulations are met. It's worth keeping invoices and claiming the relief in your annual tax return, on your own or with an accountant's help.
Supporting benefit and other forms of help
In recent years, additional forms of support for people with disabilities have appeared, such as the supporting benefit, whose amount depends on the level of support need established in the certificate. The rules are updated from time to time, so the best source of information is always your local social welfare centre, which will tell you what specifically applies in your situation.
Where to start so you don't miss support
- Book an appointment at your municipal social welfare centre (MOPS/GOPS) and ask about all available forms of funding.
- Check whether the senior has a current disability certificate or a ruling on inability to live independently.
- Gather documents confirming the senior's income and the family's situation.
- Keep invoices for care; they'll be useful for tax relief.
- Ask the chosen facility whether it helps families with the funding paperwork.
How to combine funding with choosing a facility
The amount of available support often decides which facility you can realistically afford. That's why it's worth calculating the net cost, meaning after deducting support and benefits, before you compare offers. We describe full price ranges and what's included in our article on how much a care home costs in Poland. If you'd like to see facilities within your budget after support straight away, you can use our free help choosing a care home.
Funding won't solve everything, but it can turn a facility from out of reach into genuinely affordable. A few hours spent on paperwork often pays for itself many times over across a year.
