The benefit cap: who it affects and the 2026/27 limits

The benefit cap limits the total amount of benefits a working-age household can receive, and it can leave some families with a significant shortfall, particularly with their rent. But there are important exemptions, some of which are widely missed. This guide explains the benefit cap, the 2026/27 limits, who it affects, the exemptions, and what you can do if you are capped.

What the benefit cap is

The benefit cap is a limit on the total amount of certain benefits a working-age household can receive. If your benefits add up to more than the cap, your Universal Credit, or Housing Benefit, is reduced so that your total comes down to the cap level. It was introduced to limit the total support some households receive, and it mainly affects larger families and those with high rents.

The 2026/27 limits

The cap levels are frozen for 2026/27, and they are higher in London than in the rest of the country. Outside Greater London, the cap is £1,835 a month for couples and lone parents, or £1,229.42 a month for single adults without children. Inside Greater London, it is £2,110.25 a month for couples and lone parents, or £1,413.92 a month for single adults without children. These are also expressed as yearly figures, but the cap is applied to each monthly Universal Credit assessment period.

Which benefits count

The cap is applied to the total of a range of benefits added together, including Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Maternity Allowance and bereavement benefits. Not every benefit counts, and the disability and carer benefits that exempt you are not included in the capped total. It is the combined amount of the relevant benefits that is compared with the cap.

The earnings exemption

One of the most important ways to avoid the cap is through earnings. If you, or you and your partner together, earn at least £881 a month after tax and National Insurance, the benefit cap does not apply to you. This is why increasing your hours or earnings, even modestly, can sometimes remove the cap entirely and leave you considerably better off. If you are close to the threshold, it is worth seeing whether a small increase in earnings would lift you over it.

Disability and carer exemptions

You are also exempt from the benefit cap if you or someone in your household receives certain disability benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance, or their Scottish equivalents, or if you have limited capability for work and work-related activity, or receive a carer's benefit such as Carer's Allowance or the carer element. These exemptions are widely missed, so if anyone in your household might qualify for one of these benefits, it is well worth checking, as it could lift the cap.

The grace period

There is also a grace period. If you, or your partner, have recently stopped working but earned enough in each of the previous 12 months, the benefit cap does not apply for a period of nine months. This is designed to give households who have lost work some time before the cap bites. If you have recently lost a job, check whether you are in a grace period, as it can give you valuable breathing space.

What you can do if you are capped

If you are affected by the benefit cap, there are several things to consider. Check carefully whether any exemption applies, especially a disability or carer benefit that someone in your household could claim. See whether increasing your earnings over the threshold is possible. And if the cap is leaving you short on your rent, apply to your council for a Discretionary Housing Payment, which is often used to help capped households bridge the gap.

Why it usually hits the rent

Because the benefit cap reduces your Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, the practical effect is often a shortfall in what you have to pay your rent, since that is the part that gets cut. This can leave capped households struggling to cover their housing costs from money meant for other essentials. Understanding that the cap usually bites on your housing support helps explain why a Discretionary Housing Payment is such an important source of help for capped families.

Larger families and high rents

The benefit cap tends to affect larger families and people with high rents most, because their total benefits are more likely to exceed the limit. A bigger family with several children, or a household renting in an expensive area, can find their benefits capped even though their needs are greater. If this is your situation, it is especially worth checking every possible exemption, as being lifted out of the cap can make a substantial difference.

Check before you assume

Many households do not realise they are exempt, or could become exempt, from the benefit cap. A disability benefit awarded to a child or adult in the household, a successful claim for the carer element, or a move into work above the earnings threshold can all remove the cap. So before accepting that you must live with a capped income, get a full benefits check, as the cap can sometimes be lifted entirely once everything you are entitled to is in place.

The pension age exemption

The benefit cap only applies to working-age households, so once you, or in a couple both of you, reach State Pension age, the cap no longer applies. This is one reason the position can change as people get older. If you are in a mixed-age couple, the rules can be complicated, so it is worth getting advice about how the cap and your age affect your benefits, particularly as one of you approaches State Pension age.

Moving into work

For many capped households, the route out of the cap is increasing earnings to the exemption level, and the support to do this is worth using. Your work coach can help with finding work or more hours, and the childcare help available through Universal Credit can make working possible. Because crossing the earnings threshold removes the cap entirely, even a modest increase in work can sometimes leave a household much better off than the headline figures suggest.

In short

The benefit cap limits total benefits for working-age households to £1,835 a month for couples and lone parents outside London, or £2,110.25 in London, with lower limits for single adults. You are exempt if you earn £881 or more a month, or if you receive certain disability or carer benefits, or are in a grace period. Check exemptions carefully, as many are missed.

Do not give up if you are capped

Being affected by the benefit cap can feel like there is nothing you can do, but that is rarely the case. Between checking every exemption, looking at whether more work is possible, and applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment, most capped households can improve their position. Getting advice is the best first step, as an adviser can quickly see whether the cap should apply to you at all and what help is available to ease its effect.

Where to get help

Citizens Advice can check whether the cap applies to you and whether an exemption is being missed. See our guides to Discretionary Housing Payments and the work allowance and taper.