Estimate your Universal Credit monthly payment based on your household, earnings, housing costs, and children. Uses 2025/26 rates.
Universal Credit (UC) replaces six legacy benefits: Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, and Working Tax Credit. It is paid monthly and calculated using a formula: Maximum UC award − Taper deductions = Monthly payment.
Your maximum award is built from elements added together: the standard allowance, plus any applicable housing, child, disability (LCWRA), or carer elements. The DWP then deducts 55p for every £1 of net earnings above your Work Allowance (if you have one) — this is the "taper rate."
From April 2025, UC standard allowances increased by 1.7% (CPI uprating). Key monthly rates:
If you have a Work Allowance — which applies if you have a child or a limited capability for work — your UC is not reduced until your earnings exceed that threshold. From April 2025, the higher Work Allowance is £673/month and the lower Work Allowance (if you also get housing element) is £404/month.
Above the Work Allowance, UC is reduced at 55p per £1 of net earnings. This means you keep 45p of every additional pound earned — a higher effective "keep" rate than the 37p under the old tax credits system.