The benefits cap has cost families who have been capped at an average of £249 a month (Image: Getty)
The maximum amount UK households can get in benefit payments each year has been confirmed by the DWP for the new tax year which began in April.
Every year, the DWP sets the benefits cap following government policy handed down by HM Treasury. Unlike the state pension, and other benefits like Universal Credit or Pension Credit, it is not automatically increased each year.
For the 2026-27 tax year, the benefits cap has been held again at between £14,753 and £25,233 depending on your circumstances and where you live.
The cap was last increased in 2024, and has been frozen in 2025 and will not be raised in 2026 either.
This week, the cap has become subject to scrutiny after the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to clamp down on benefits cap exemptions, such as Personal Independence Payments (PIP) which are not counted towards the cap (and neither are state pensions).
If they win power in the future, the Tories have said they would only exempt households from the cap if all adults who can work are working, while receiving benefits such as PIP would no longer be an automatic exemption from the cap, and this would “stop those who abuse the system getting almost unlimited welfare payments”.
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The cap is set at different rates for single people and couples, and inside and outside London.
Currently, the cap is £22,020 for couples and lone parents outside London, or £14,753 for single adults with no children.
In Greater London, the cap is £25,233 for couples and single parents, and £16,967 for single adults.
While individuals in the household may be eligible for various combinations of benefits, such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit and Child Benefit, when combined, they cannot exceed the Benefit Cap.
It means those hitting the cap see one of their benefits, most often Universal Credit, reduced to prevent it from exceeding the cap.
Official statistics issued by the Department for Work and Pensions show that a total of 119,000 households have had their benefits capped up until August 2025.
UK households are losing an average of £249 each every month (so an annual total of £2,988) thanks to the Benefits Cap, according to new figures released by the DWP this week.
The Benefits Cap is the maximum amount that one household can receive on benefits, when any and all benefits claimed by members of the household are added together.
Citizens Advice explains how it works too, adding that there are exceptions which mean you can exceed it.
It says: “The Benefit Cap is a limit to the total amount of money you can get from some benefits. If your Universal Credit payment is over a specific amount, the DWP might reduce it to bring it down to a certain level.
“The Benefit Cap will not apply if you’re working and earn at least £846 a month after tax. If you have a partner, your combined earnings need to be at least £846 a month.”
DWP benefits given Benefits Cap exemption
DWP guidance sets out that state pensioners are not affected by the cap as soon as they hit state pension age. It adds that the benefit cap does not apply to these benefits:
You’re not affected by the cap if you or your partner:
- get Universal Credit because of a disability or health condition that stops you from working (this is called ‘limited capability for work and work-related activity’)
- get Universal Credit because you care for someone with a disability
- get Universal Credit and you and your partner earn £881 or more a month combined, after tax and National Insurance contributions
You’re also not affected by the cap if you, your partner or any children under 18 living with you gets:
- Adult Disability Payment (ADP)
- Armed Forces Compensation Scheme
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- Child Disability Payment
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Employment and Support Allowance (if you get the support component)
- Guardian’s Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Benefits (and equivalent payments as part of a War Disablement Pension or the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme)
- Pension Age Disability Payment
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
- War pensions
- War Widow’s or War Widower’s Pension
And the above category is what the Conservatives say they would target for cuts.
Recently, the government scrapped the two-child benefit cap from April. This is a limit on claiming extra Universal Credit benefits for more than two children. It means you will now be able to claim more money for each additional child for the ‘children’ element of Universal Credit.
However, confusingly, this is still subject to the overall Benefits Cap, meaning you won’t be able to get any more money if it would push you past the cap.
As explained by Money Helper: “The benefit cap is the maximum amount your household can get in benefits. This means that if you already get the maximum amount your payment will not increase.”
