Universal Credit (UC) - How much Universal Credit (UC) will I get?

How much Universal Credit you can get will depend on the income and circumstances of all the household members. To get an estimate of what you may be entitled to when you claim Universal Credit, you can use the Turn2us Benefits Calculator.

In working out your Universal Credit award, firstly your household’s maximum Universal Credit award is calculated. This will be made up of one standard allowance and any additional elements that apply.

Universal Credit Standard Allowance

Your standard allowance will depend on whether you are single or claiming as a couple, and your age. There is one standard allowance for your household:

• Single claimant aged under 25: £311.68 per month
• Single claimant aged 25 or over: £393.45 per month
• Joint claimants both aged under 25: £489.23 per month
• Joint claimants either aged 25 or over: £617.60 per month

Universal Credit additional elements

There are additional elements that can be added to your basic allowance. Your household may qualify for more than one of these:

• Child element
• Childcare costs element
• Limited capability for work element (abolished for most new claimants from 3 April 2017)
• Limited capability for work and work-related activity element (LCWRA element)
• Carer element
• Housing costs element
• Transitional amount for people who had Severe Disability Premium on their legacy benefits
• Transitional amount for people who were moved to Universal Credit through managed migration .

The same person cannot get a LCWRA element as well as a Carer element even if they are eligible for both.

Universal Credit award

If your household has no earnings, other income, capital or savings, the Universal Credit award you receive will be your maximum Universal Credit award (one standard allowance plus any additional elements) unless you are affected by the Benefit Cap. ​

If anyone in your household has earnings, other income, savings or capital, these will need to be taken into account to work out the Universal Credit award you may receive.

See our Universal Credit income and capital guide for further details.

What if my Universal Credit entitlement is less than my current entitlement?

Some people find they receive less money under Universal Credit than they would have received under the legacy benefit system. 

If you receive a Managed Migration Notice letter and apply for Universal Credit before the deadline, you will not be worse off on Universal Credit than you were on your old benefit. You will receive a ‘transitional amount’ to top up your Universal Credit to the same amount you were getting on legacy benefits .

If you've received a migration notice letter telling you to claim Universal Credit, read our Universal Credit Migration Notice guide to find out about your next steps. 

People who make a new claim for Universal Credit, including people who need to claim Universal Credit because of a change of circumstances, will not receive any transitional amount, even if their Universal Credit entitlement is less than they would get under the benefits it replaces (there is an exception for people who received Severe Disability Premium on their legacy benefits ). Only people transferred to Universal Credit by through the managed migration process will get the transitional amount.  

See our Universal Credit Transitional Protection guide for further details.