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Universal Credit
Contents

— What Universal Credit is

— Eligibility

— What you'll get

— How your earnings affect your payments

— How you're paid

— How to claim

— Get an advance on your first payment

— Your claimant commitment

— Report a change of circumstances

— Other financial support

— Contact Universal Credit

What you'll get

How much Universal Credit you get depends on:

your standard allowance

any extra amounts that apply to you
any money taken off your payment

Use a benefits calculator to see how much you could

get.

Your monthly assessment period

Universal Credit is paid monthly and is based on your
circumstances each month. This is called your
‘assessment period’ and it starts the day you make your
claim.

For example, if you made your claim on the 10th of the

month, your assessment period will start from the 10th
of that month until the 9th of the following month. Your
Universal Credit payment will then be paid on the 16th
of each month.

Changes in your circumstances can affect how much

you’re paid for your assessment period. You should
report a change of circumstances to get the correct
payment.

How much Universal Credit you get will also depend

on your earnings.

Standard allowance
You’ll get one standard allowance for your household.

How much you’ll get Monthly

standard
allowance

If you’re single and under 25 £265.31

If you’re single and 25 or over £334.91

If you live with your partner and £416.45 (for you

you’re both under 25 both)

If you live with your partner and £525.72 (for you

either of you are 25 or over both)

Extra amounts
You may get more money on top of your standard
allowance if you’re eligible.

If you have children

You’ll get an extra amount for your first and second

child.

You will not get extra money for any more children
unless:

your children were born before 6 April 2017

you were already claiming for 3 or more children
before 6 April 2017
other exceptions apply

How much you’ll get Extra monthly amount

For your first child £290.00 (born before

6 April 2017)
£244.58 (born on or
after 6 April 2017)

For your second child and any £244.58 per child

other eligible children

You’ll also get an extra amount if any of your children are

disabled. You’re eligible for this extra amount no matter
how many children you have.

You’ll get:

£132.89 if your child is disabled

£414.88 if your child is severely disabled

Childcare costs

You can claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs if

you’re working. If you live with your partner both of you
need to be working, unless one of you is unable to work
due to a disability or health condition.

The childcare needs to be from a registered provider.

You can get help paying for childcare including
nurseries, childminders, breakfast clubs, after school
care and holiday clubs.

The most you can get each month is:

£646.35 for one child

£1,108.04 for 2 or more children

You need to pay your childcare costs up front and claim

the money back as part of your payment. You can get
support to help you pay your childcare costs up front.
Talk to your work coach after you’ve made your claim.

Read more about childcare costs and Universal Credit.

If you have a disability or health condition

How much you’ll get Extra

monthly
amount

If you have limited capability for work and £354.28

work-related activity

If you have limited capability for work and £132.89

you started your health-related Universal
Credit or Employment and Support
Allowance (ESA) claim before 3 April 2017

If you get the severe disability premium and you’re

moving to Universal Credit, you might also be
entitled to a ‘transitional protection’ payment.

Read more about health conditions, disability and

Universal Credit.

If you care for someone who gets a health or

disability-related benefit

How much you’ll get Extra

monthly
amount

If you provide care for at least 35 hours a £168.81

week for someone who gets a health or
disability-related benefit

This is on top of any extra amount you get if you have

a disabled child.

Housing costs

You could get money to help pay your housing costs.

The payment can cover rent and some service charges.

If you’re a homeowner, you might be able to get a loan

to help with interest payments on your mortgage.

Money taken off your payment

Your payments might be reduced if any of the following
apply:

you are paying back an advance on a Universal Credit

payment
you have more than £6,000 in money, savings and
investments
you would get above the amount limited by the
benefit cap
you’ve been overpaid benefits in the past
you owe money for Council Tax, court fines,
electricity, gas, water or Child Maintenance
you pay your gas or electricity bill directly from your
Universal Credit payment
you have a paid job
you have other income – for example, money from
pensions or certain other benefits

Find out more about money taken off your Universal

Credit payment.

Moving to Universal Credit from other benefits

If you’ve applied for Universal Credit, you’ll keep getting
your current benefit paid for 2 more weeks. You must
still be eligible for your current benefit.

This only applies if you’re getting:

income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Housing Benefit

You will not need to pay back the extra payments and
they will not affect the Universal Credit you might get.

Other support you could get

If you receive Universal Credit you may also be able to
get other financial support depending on your
circumstances.

Previous
Eligibility

Next
How your earnings affect your payments

View a printable version of the whole guide

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