Standard allowance and elements 2026/27
The standard allowance is the foundation of every Universal Credit award. Every household gets exactly one, set by whether you claim as a single person or as a couple and by whether you are under or over 25. Everything else — housing, children, childcare, health, caring — is added on top of it, and you cannot receive an element without first qualifying for a standard allowance.
Standard allowance rates, from April 2026
| Household | Monthly standard allowance |
|---|---|
| Single, under 25 | £338.58 |
| Single, 25 or over | £424.90 |
| Couple, both under 25 | £528.34 |
| Couple, one or both 25 or over | £666.97 |
These are monthly amounts, not weekly ones. A single claimant aged 25 or over on the standard allowance alone receives £424.90 a month, which is £5,098.80 over a year. The previous year's rates — £316.98, £400.14, £497.55 and £628.10 — are shown here only so that readers can spot out-of-date pages; they are not the current rates. Source: GOV.UK Universal Credit guide, "What you'll get".
All the elements at a glance
| Element | 2026/27 monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Child element, each child | £303.94 (first child born before 6 April 2017: £351.88) |
| Disabled child addition | £164.79 lower; £514.71 higher |
| Childcare costs (85% of costs, up to) | £1,071.09 (1 child); £1,836.16 (2 or more children) |
| Health element (LCWRA), severe | £429.80 |
| Health element (LCWRA), most new awards from April 2026 | £217.26 |
| Health element (LCW, legacy protected claims) | £158.76 |
| Carer element | £209.34 |
| Housing costs | Depends on rent and Local Housing Allowance — see the housing page |
Elements are not added automatically
GOV.UK is explicit on this point: you must report a change when you become eligible for an extra amount. If you become a carer, the carer element is not added because you start getting Carer's Allowance — you have to tell DWP. The same applies to a new child, a new tenancy, or a health condition that affects your ability to work. A missed report is the most common reason an award is lower than it should be, and it is also the reason overpayments happen when a change in the other direction goes unreported.
A worked example
Take a single parent aged 30, no housing element, with one child born after April 2017 and no earnings. Maximum Universal Credit is the standard allowance (£424.90) plus one child element (£303.94) = £728.84 a month. If that parent then earns £1,000 a month, the work allowance (£710, no housing element) leaves £290 subject to the 55% taper, a reduction of £159.50, giving £569.34 a month. The taper page works through this arithmetic in full, with stated assumptions. All figures: GOV.UK, 2026/27.