Universal Credit
Universal Credit rates: every amount, this year and last
One table per building block, each with the 2025/26 figure beside it, so you can see what moved in April.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
From April 2026 the Universal Credit standard allowance is £338.58 a month for a single claimant under 25, £424.90 at 25 or over, £528.34 for a couple who are both under 25 and £666.97 when either partner has turned 25. The child element is £303.94 for every child, or £351.88 for an eldest child born before 6 April 2017, and a disabled child adds £164.79 or £514.71. The health element (LCWRA) has two rates this year: £429.80 for people already covered before 6 April 2026 or with a severe lifelong condition, and £217.26 for most new health claims. The carer element is £209.34, childcare is refunded at 85 % up to £1,071.09 for one child or £1,836.16 for two or more, and the work allowances are £427 and £710. All figures are monthly and come from the DWP rates table for 2026 to 2027.
Your Universal Credit rates for 2026/27
Monthly amount before income
£728.84
| Standard allowance | £424.90 |
| Child elements | £303.94 |
| Rise on 2025/26 | £35.89 a month |
Rent, health, carer and childcare elements are added on top; earnings and savings are taken off.
Standard allowance
Every award starts from one standard allowance for the household. Age is the only thing that changes it, and in a couple it is enough for one partner to be 25 or over for the higher couple rate to apply. Claimants under 25 have their own page because the lower rate also feeds into sanctions and deductions.
| Household | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, under 25 | £316.98 | £338.58 | 6.8 % |
| Single, 25 or over | £400.14 | £424.90 | 6.2 % |
| Couple, both under 25 | £497.55 | £528.34 | 6.2 % |
| Couple, one or both 25 or over | £628.10 | £666.97 | 6.2 % |
Children and disabled children
The child element is now paid for every child who normally lives with you, since the two-child limit ended on 6 April 2026. The disabled child addition is paid on top of the child element, never instead of it: the higher amount goes with the highest care rate of Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced daily living rate of PIP, or a child who is blind or severely sight impaired; any other DLA or PIP award gives the lower amount.
| Amount | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Each child | £292.81 | £303.94 |
| Eldest child born before 6 April 2017 | £339.00 | £351.88 |
| Disabled child, lower addition | £158.76 | £164.79 |
| Disabled child, higher addition | £495.87 | £514.71 |
Health and caring
This is the block that changed shape in April. The Universal Credit Act 2025 split the LCWRA amount in two: the protected rate of £429.80 rose with the rest of the table, while new claims that do not meet the severe conditions criteria now receive £217.26, roughly half the old figure. The health element guide explains who falls on which side of the line. A claimant cannot hold the carer element and the LCWRA element at the same time; where both would apply, only the health amount is paid.
| Amount | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| LCWRA, protected or severe conditions or end of life | £423.27 | £429.80 |
| LCWRA, new health claims from 6 April 2026 | £423.27 | £217.26 |
| LCW, claims started before 3 April 2017 | £158.76 | £158.76 |
| Carer element | £201.68 | £209.34 |
Childcare caps and work allowances
Childcare costs are paid back at 85 % of what you paid, but never above the monthly cap. The work allowance is the slice of take-home pay ignored before the 55 % taper starts, and only households with children or a limited capability for work get one. The lower figure applies whenever the award contains help with rent.
| Amount | 2025/26 | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|
| Childcare cap, one child | £1,031.88 | £1,071.09 |
| Childcare cap, two or more children | £1,768.94 | £1,836.16 |
| Higher work allowance (no housing costs) | £684.00 | £710.00 |
| Lower work allowance (housing costs in the award) | £411.00 | £427.00 |
What is taken away from the total
Three figures reduce the maximum rather than add to it. A housing cost contribution of £96.55 (previously £93.02) comes off the rent for most adult sons, daughters or other relatives living with you, unless an exemption applies. Capital between £6,000 and £16,000 is treated as producing £4.35 a month for each £250 or part of it, unchanged from 2025/26. Earnings above any work allowance are taken at 55 %. Separately, repayments of advances and debts are capped at 15 % of the standard allowance, which is £63.74 for a single person aged 25 or over; the deductions page lists each band.
A household priced at 2026/27 rates
Take a couple in their thirties with three children, the eldest born in 2015, renting from a housing association. Their standard allowance is £666.97. The eldest child brings £351.88 and the two younger ones £607.88 between them, so the children add £959.76. Before rent, earnings or childcare, the household's maximum is £1,626.73 a month. A year earlier the same family, with the third child excluded by the old limit, would have started from £1,259.91. Their rent is then added, the lower work allowance of £427 is applied to the wages, and the Universal Credit calculator does the rest.
Checking your statement against the table
Your online statement lists each element under “your entitlement” for the assessment period. If a line differs from the table, look first at the dates: a statement from before the April change will match the 2025/26 column, not the new one. Then check the household line, because GOV.UK warns that a change of circumstances, such as moving in with a partner or turning 25, can affect the whole assessment period in which it happens. A missing element, such as the carer amount, is usually one that was never reported: extras are not added automatically.
Where the figures come from
Every number on this page is copied from the DWP benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027, the table that also lists the previous year, and matches the amounts on GOV.UK’s guide to what you’ll get. The work allowances are fixed in regulation 22 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013. Rates change each April, so check the year printed on any table you compare with. Amounts for other benefits are gathered on the benefit rates page.