Scotland, Wales, NI
Benefits calculator: what your household could get this year
Nine questions, one total: a first estimate of every main benefit, then the calculator that goes into detail for each.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
This benefits calculator gives a first monthly estimate for a whole household from nine answers: age, couple or single, children, take-home income, housing, rent, disability, caring and where you live. Below State Pension age it works out Universal Credit with the 2026/27 rates, from a standard allowance of £424.90 a month at 25 or over plus £303.94 for each child, minus 55 % of each pound earned above the work allowance, and applies the benefit cap. It adds Child Benefit (£27.05 a week for the eldest child), PIP or Adult Disability Payment at the standard rate when daily living is affected, and Carer’s Allowance when caring 35 hours a week and earning no more than £204.00 a week. From age 66 it switches to Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and the Winter Fuel Payment. In Scotland it adds Scottish Child Payment of £28.20 a week per child. Each line links to a full calculator that asks the extra questions the estimate leaves out.
Estimated benefits a month, 2026/27
£1,236
| Child Benefit£27.05 a week; repaid through tax above £60,000 income | £117 |
| Universal Creditrent taken as entered; the full calculator applies your area’s LHA cap | £1,119 |
A household run through the checker
The form opens on a single parent aged 35 with one child, taking home £900 a month and renting privately for £650. Universal Credit comes out at £1,118.69: a maximum of £1,378.84, less 55 % of earnings above the lower work allowance of £427. Child Benefit adds about £117.22 a month. Change the rent type to social, or the location to Scotland, and the lines change with it; Scottish Child Payment of £122.20 a month appears for the child.
What the estimate covers and leaves out
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Universal Credit standard allowance, child and carer elements, 55 % taper, benefit cap | Local Housing Allowance cap (in the full calculator), health element, childcare costs |
| Child Benefit for every child | High Income Child Benefit Charge above £60,000 (in its own calculator) |
| PIP or ADP at the standard rate if daily living is affected | The PIP points test, enhanced rates (in the PIP calculator) |
| Pension Credit guarantee at 66 or over, Attendance Allowance lower rate | Savings credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction |
| Carer’s Allowance with the earnings limit | Transitional protection, self-employment, students, mixed-age couples |
Each line of the result links to the page that goes further: Universal Credit, PIP points, Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance. The rates come from the DWP table for 2026 to 2027 and are listed in one place on the benefit rates page.
When to use another calculator
GOV.UK points to three independent calculators run by entitledto, Turn2us and Policy in Practice. They take longer, ask about Council Tax and outgoings, and handle situations this site does not model. GOV.UK warns that none of them is accurate for students, people on strike or people living abroad. If you already get older benefits such as tax credits or income-based JSA, check before claiming Universal Credit: once you claim, those benefits stop and cannot be restarted.
Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions of several benefits; benefits in Scotland and benefits in Northern Ireland set out the differences.