Benefit Cap 2026/27: £1,835 a Month (£2,110.25 London)

Quick answer: the benefit cap in 2026/27

Outside Greater London the benefit cap is £1,835 a month (£22,020 a year) for couples and for single parents whose children live with them, and £1,229.42 a month (£14,753 a year) for single adults.²⁶
Inside Greater London it is £2,110.25 a month (£25,323 a year) for couples and single parents, and £1,413.92 a month (£16,967 a year) for single adults.²⁶
You are not capped if you or your partner earn £881 a month or more between you after tax and National Insurance, or if anyone in the household gets a disability or carer benefit such as PIP, Attendance Allowance, DLA or Carer's Allowance, or the Universal Credit health or carer element.³
The cap amounts were not increased in April 2026.⁶

Benefit cap 2026/27: a month and a year

These are the 2026/27 cap amounts. The cap is set as a weekly and monthly amount; the yearly figure is the monthly cap x 12.²

Benefit cap 2026/27. A year = the monthly cap x 12.
	Outside London, a month	Outside London, a year	Greater London, a month	Greater London, a year
Couples, and single parents whose children live with them	£1,835.00	£22,020	£2,110.25	£25,323
Single adults	£1,229.42	£14,753	£1,413.92	£16,967

Check whether the cap applies to you →

What is the benefit cap and who does it affect?

The benefit cap limits the total amount of certain benefits a working-age household can get. It is applied to Universal Credit, or to Housing Benefit if you are not on Universal Credit.¹

In 2026/27 the cap is £423.46 a week (£1,835 a month) for couples and single parents outside Greater London, and £486.98 a week (£2,110.25 a month) inside Greater London. For single adults it is £283.71 a week (£1,229.42 a month) outside London and £326.29 a week (£1,413.92 a month) inside London. If you are in a couple but do not live together, you get the single amounts.²

If your capped benefits add up to more than the cap, your Universal Credit is reduced by the difference. The cap does not reduce Child Benefit or other benefits directly.

Which benefits count towards the cap?

These benefits are added up for the cap: Universal Credit, Bereavement Allowance, Child Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Incapacity Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, Maternity Allowance, Severe Disablement Allowance, and Widowed Parent's Allowance (or Widowed Mother's Allowance or Widow's Pension if it started before 9 April 2001).⁴

Disability and carer benefits such as PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance are not counted, and getting one of them means the cap does not apply to your household at all (see below).³

Who is exempt from the benefit cap?

You are not affected by the cap if you, your partner or any child under 18 living with you gets any of these: Adult Disability Payment, Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment, Child Disability Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance with the support component, Guardian's Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefits, Pension Age Disability Payment, PIP, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, a war pension, or War Widow's or War Widower's Pension.³

On Universal Credit you are also not affected if you get UC because a health condition stops you working (limited capability for work and work-related activity), if you get UC because you care for a disabled person, or if you and your partner earn £881 or more a month combined after tax and National Insurance.³ The £881 is 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage, turned into a monthly figure.⁵

There is a 9-month grace period. If your earnings were at least that amount in each of the 12 months before your earnings dropped or you claimed, the cap does not start for 9 months.⁵ You are also not capped if you are over State Pension age, but if you are in a couple and one of you is under State Pension age, the cap may apply.³

Is the benefit cap different in London, Scotland or Wales?

Only Greater London has a higher cap. Living near London does not count: towns outside the Greater London boundary use the lower cap.

Scotland and Wales use the same cap as the rest of Great Britain outside London, because the cap applies to Universal Credit and Housing Benefit in the same way.

What can I do if I am capped?

Check the exemptions first. The most common reasons a cap is lifted are: earnings reaching £881 a month, a household member being awarded a disability or carer benefit, or a health condition being assessed for the Universal Credit health element.³

If you have just been awarded PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance, tell DWP straight away and ask them to check whether any capped months should be looked at again.

If you think the cap has been applied wrongly, for example at the London rate when you live outside London, or with a household member's disability benefit missed, ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the decision. Your council may also be able to help with a Discretionary Housing Payment while you sort things out.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Child Benefit count towards the cap?

Yes. Child Benefit is included in the list of capped benefits and counts towards your household total for cap purposes. This surprises many families because Child Benefit is paid separately by HMRC rather than through DWP, but DWP uses HMRC data to include it in the cap calculation. If your total benefits including Child Benefit exceed the cap level, your UC is reduced to bring the total down.

Is the benefit cap the same everywhere?

No. In Greater London it is £2,110.25 a month for couples and single parents and £1,413.92 for single adults. Everywhere else in Great Britain it is £1,835 and £1,229.42 a month. Northern Ireland has its own cap rules.

I've just been awarded PIP. Does the cap stop?

Yes. PIP at any rate, for you, your partner or a child under 18 living with you, means the cap does not apply. Tell DWP straight away and ask them to check whether any earlier capped months should be revised.

How much do you need to earn to avoid the benefit cap?

On Universal Credit, £881 a month or more after tax and National Insurance, combined for a couple. If you earned at least that in each of the previous 12 months, a 9-month grace period also applies.

Is the benefit cap the same in Scotland and Wales?

Yes. Outside Greater London the cap is £1,835.00 a month for couples and single parents and £1,229.42 for single adults.

What is the benefit cap a year?

£22,020 a year outside London and £25,323 in Greater London for couples and single parents; £14,753 and £16,967 for single adults.

The Benefit Cap 2026/27: Rates, Exemptions and How It Affects Your UC