Benefit cap checker
See whether the total of your benefits is above the cap for your household and area, and how earning enough or getting a qualifying benefit lifts it entirely.
How the cap works
The benefit cap sets a ceiling on the total of most working-age benefits. The ceiling depends on two things: whether you are a couple or lone parent as opposed to a single person without children, and whether you live in Greater London, where the cap is higher. If your capped benefits add up to more than the ceiling, the excess is taken off, usually from your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
Two routes lift the cap completely. The first is earnings: a household earning at or above the monthly threshold is exempt, so even part-time work at the right level removes the cap from the whole award. The second is qualifying benefits, mainly disability and carer benefits, which exempt the household outright. Because both are all-or-nothing, they are worth checking carefully before assuming you are capped.
Worked example
A couple outside London getting £2,000 a month in capped benefits, with no earnings and no exempt benefit, is compared with the £1,835 monthly cap. Their benefits are about £165 over it, so that amount is taken off, leaving roughly £1,835. Earning at least £881 a month would remove the cap and restore the full award.
Common questions
What is the benefit cap?
The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of certain working-age benefits a household can get. For 2026/27 it is about £25,323 a year for couples and lone parents in Greater London, £22,020 outside London, and lower for single people without children at £16,967 in London and £14,753 outside.
How do I avoid the cap by working?
If your household earns at or above the monthly earnings threshold, about £881 a month in 2026/27, the cap does not apply at all. This is the main way working households escape it. It is a cliff edge on exemption, so earning just over the line lifts the cap on your whole award.
Which benefits are exempt?
Getting certain benefits exempts your whole household from the cap. These include Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, the Universal Credit health element for limited capability for work and work-related activity, Carer's Allowance and the UC carer element, and some others. If any apply, tick the exemption box.
How is the cap actually applied?
The cap is applied by reducing your Universal Credit, or your Housing Benefit if you get that instead. Your other benefits are paid in full and the reduction is taken from the housing or UC part. There is also a nine-month grace period if you have recently left work after a spell of steady earnings.
Does the cap count Council Tax and disability benefits?
No. The cap counts benefits like Universal Credit, Child Benefit and Housing Benefit, but not Council Tax Reduction, and not the disability and carer benefits that exempt you. Enter the total of the capped benefits your household gets, not every payment.