UK Benefit Cap (2026/27): Household Limits + 10 Exemption Routes
The Benefit Cap 2026/27: £22,020 a year outside Greater London and £25,323 inside for couples and lone parents. Which benefits count and who is exempt.
2026/27 cap limits
| Household type | Annual | Monthly | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Couple, or single parent whose children live with them, outside Greater London | £22,020 | £1,835.00 | £423.46 |
| Single adult, outside Greater London | £14,753 | £1,229.42 | £283.71 |
| Couple, or single parent whose children live with them, inside Greater London | £25,323 | £2,110.25 | £486.98 |
| Single adult, inside Greater London | £16,967 | £1,413.92 | £326.29 |
Full exemption routes
Per gov.uk, any ONE of these means the benefit cap does not apply, however much your benefits add up to:
- You or your partner have reached State Pension age (if only one of a couple has, the cap may still apply)
- You get Universal Credit and you and your partner earn £881 or more a month combined, after tax and National Insurance (the figure was £846 up to 31 March 2026)
- You or your partner get Universal Credit because of limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA)
- You or your partner get Universal Credit because you care for someone with a disability (the carer element)
- You, your partner or a child under 18 living with you gets: Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment or Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance
- You, your partner or a child under 18 living with you gets: Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment
- You, your partner or a child under 18 living with you gets: Employment and Support Allowance with the support component
- You, your partner or a child under 18 living with you gets: Industrial Injuries Benefits, war pensions, War Widow's or Widower's Pension, the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme or Armed Forces Independence Payment
- You, your partner or a child under 18 living with you gets: Guardian's Allowance
- You are within a 9-month grace period after your earnings fell or your work stopped (see below)
The earnings route is £881 a month from 1 April 2026: 16 hours a week at the National Living Wage, converted to a monthly amount (UC Regulations 2013, reg 82). It is measured after tax and National Insurance, and a couple's earnings are added together. It is not the same figure as the Universal Credit administrative earnings threshold used for work-search requirements. If you think an exemption was missed, ask for mandatory reconsideration within one month of the decision. Citizens Advice can help.
Help with rent if you are capped
gov.uk says to contact DWP (through your Universal Credit journal) and, if you need help paying rent or a deposit, your local council. What the council can offer depends on where you live (gov.uk, retrieved 2026-09-30):
- England: the Crisis and Resilience Fund, which started on 1 April 2026. From that year Discretionary Housing Payments in England are part of it.
- Wales: a Discretionary Housing Payment from your council.
- Scotland: a Discretionary Housing Payment. The Scottish Government says it fully funds mitigation of the benefit cap (since January 2023) and expects everyone affected to receive a DHP (gov.scot).
gov.uk says these schemes are not affected by the benefit cap. Awards are discretionary: the council decides whether to pay and for how long.
Related guides
- UK Universal Credit + Working 2026/27 - work allowance and taper.
- UK Council Tax Reduction 2026/27 - separate scheme, not in cap.
- UK PIP Eligibility + Assessment 2026/27 - disability benefit cap exemption.
- Universal Credit Calculator - check your entitlement.
Frequently asked questions
What is the benefit cap?
A limit on the total amount of certain benefits a household can get. It applies to most people aged 16 or over who have not reached State Pension age. If your benefits add up to more than the cap, the excess is taken off your Universal Credit award or, if you are on Housing Benefit, off your Housing Benefit. The cap amounts were last changed in April 2023 (SI 2023/335) and gov.uk still shows the same figures in 2026.
What are the cap limits in 2026/27?
Outside Greater London: £22,020 a year (£1,835 a month) for a couple or a single parent whose children live with them, and £14,753 (£1,229.42 a month) for a single adult. Inside Greater London: £25,323 a year (£2,110.25 a month) and £16,967 (£1,413.92 a month). A couple who do not live together get the single-person amount. Source: gov.uk benefit cap amounts and SI 2023/335.
Which benefits count towards the cap?
Per gov.uk: 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). Carer's Allowance does not count: getting it exempts the household. Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025.
How do I become exempt from the cap?
The main routes on gov.uk: (1) on Universal Credit, you and your partner earn £881 or more a month combined, after tax and National Insurance (from 1 April 2026; it was £846 before). There is no separate hours test and the earnings of both partners are added together. (2) You, your partner or a child living with you gets a listed disability or carer benefit, such as PIP, DLA, Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance. (3) Your UC includes the LCWRA or carer element. (4) You are in a 9-month grace period.
What's the 9-month grace period?
Under regulation 82 of the Universal Credit Regulations 2013 the cap does not apply for 9 months if, in each of the 12 months before your earnings fell or you stopped work, you (with your partner, if you had one) earned at least the earnings threshold: £846 up to 31 March 2026 and £881 from 1 April 2026. For a new claim it starts the day after you last worked, or the payday your earnings fell below the threshold, not the date you claim. So a late claim uses up part of it. Housing Benefit has its own 39-week grace period if you worked for at least 50 of the previous 52 weeks (HB Regulations 2006, reg 75E).
Can the cap be challenged or reviewed?
You can challenge a decision about how the cap applies to you, for example a wrong calculation or a missed exemption. For Universal Credit, ask DWP for a mandatory reconsideration, usually within one month of the decision, then appeal to a tribunal. For Housing Benefit, ask the council to review its decision, then appeal to a tribunal. Challenges to the cap itself have failed in the Supreme Court: R (SG) v SSWP [2015] UKSC 16 and R (DA) v SSWP [2019] UKSC 21. For help with rent, see the next answer.
How does the cap interact with housing costs?
Under Universal Credit the cap reduces the whole award by the excess over the cap, less any childcare costs element (UC Regulations 2013, reg 81). It is not taken from the housing element first. For Housing Benefit claimants the reduction comes off Housing Benefit. For help with rent, ask your council: in England it is the Crisis and Resilience Fund (from 1 April 2026), and in Scotland or Wales a Discretionary Housing Payment. gov.uk says these schemes are not affected by the cap.
Is the benefit cap going to change?
The annual limits are set in the Welfare Reform Act 2012 s.96(5A) and were last changed by SI 2023/335 from April 2023. The earnings exemption is tied to the National Living Wage, so it moves each April: £881 a month from 1 April 2026. We have not found any legislated change to the cap amounts themselves. Check gov.uk/benefit-cap before planning around a change.