Has your income changed?
ICAEW membership fees are due 1 January annually. If your circumstances have changed and this has impacted your annual income, you may be eligible for a reduced membership rate. Your circumstances could have been impacted via redundancy, illness, career break, or retirement.
Annual membership fees
Rate |
Annual income for 2027 |
Amount |
|---|---|---|
Full rate |
Above £41,300 |
£499.00 |
Half rate |
Below £41,300, but above £20,700 |
£249.50 |
Low rate |
Below £20,700 |
£62.00 |
Applying for a different rate
You can apply for or update your rate when renewing online or by calling us on +44 (0)1908 248 250.
In your application, you need to consider your annual income, earned or unearned from all sources, including:
- interest on investments and savings,
- property rental,
- dividends,
- ISAs, and
- PEPs
Please note that income from pensions or state benefits is not considered when calculating your annual income.
If you are granted a reduced membership fee, it will run for the calendar year, regardless of any changes in circumstances.
Please note: A reduced subscription rate cannot be backdated. If your income is reduced part-way through the year, your current subscription rate cannot be changed or refunded.
Did you receive a reduced rate last year?
We require our members to review their subscription rate each year to ensure they are paying the correct amount. If you received a reduced rate last year and are still eligible, you need to confirm this online before making payment.
Annual retired rate |
£249.50 |
Life membership |
£748.50 |
Life membership at 75 years or 50 years of membership |
Free |
If you are considering retiring or have retired since your membership was last renewed, you may be eligible for reduced membership fees.
If you are fully retired and have an income of less than £20,700, then you will be eligible for the lowest annual membership fee which is £62 for 2027. If your income takes you over this threshold as defined above, you may qualify for one of our alternative rates for retired members.
Members over the age of 60 who have retired from all paid work (but have an annual income of more than £20,700) are eligible for the retired rate of annual membership of £249.50. To receive this rate members must have also surrendered their Practising Certificate, if one is held.
If you are unsure as to whether you need a Practising Certificate, we would recommend referring to this helpsheet and reviewing the current ICAEW statement on members engaging in public practice.
Life Membership
Alternatively, members can pay a one-off fee for life membership, if they:
- are over the age of 55,
- are fully retired as of 1 January
- do not hold a Practising Certificate, and
- have held ICAEW membership for 25 years or more.
Free life membership
Fully retired members who have held membership for more than 50 years or who have reached 75 years of age are eligible for life membership without a one-off final payment, so if you retire and are just a few years away from free life membership, it may be more beneficial financially to look at paying a reduced rate rather than the one-off life membership fee.
Please contact a member of our team if you would like to talk through these options.
Members aged 90 and over are now automatically granted free life membership. Any Practising Certificate, Practice Assurance, Faculty and Community fees and subscriptions shall also be waived.
If you are unable to work due to an incurable and/or progressive illness, you may also be eligible for free life membership. Please contact the Members Information Team to enable them to assess your circumstances and provide support to you and your family. Please note that caba is also there to help.
CPD when retired
If you are fully retired during a CPD year (1 November – 31 October) then you would be exempt from CPD. You should document the basis on which you believe you are exempt in case you are selected for a check of your CPD activity. Then this document should be provided to QAD.
Voluntary and charitable work
Retired members can undertake charitable or voluntary work for no remuneration and remain eligible for the retired rate. Please ensure that you review ICAEW’s new CPD regulations when undertaking work. The CPD self-assessment tool will help you determine whether you are exempt from CPD.
Life member returning to work
If you are a life member that has returned to paid work, you are now subject to paying annual membership fees again.
In these circumstances life membership is temporarily frozen during the years of employment and reinstated once all work is ceased again.
No part of the one-off fee for life membership will be refunded, however, at the point you do fully retire, you return to holding life membership with no further fee.
If you are returning to work, you should check your annual CPD requirements which change from 1 November 2023. You can use our CPD self-assessment tool to help you understand the minimum number of CPD hours you are required to complete each year.
We can also support you returning to work with ICAEW events, local networking and online resources.
Unable to work due to illness
Members who are prevented from taking up gainful employment due to illness diagnosed as incurable or progressive shall be granted free life membership provided that a Practising Certificate, if held, is surrendered.
The life membership fee and any faculty and community fees and subscriptions shall be waived. Adequate documentary medical justification may be requested.
Please contact the Members Information team to enable them to assess your circumstances and provide support to you and your family.
We're here to help
If you have any questions or need any more support please get in touch with our Members Information Team.
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