CORONAVIRUS: If you have seen a drop in your income due to the Coronavirus outbreak then you be may be entitled to some Universal Credit. You could use an online calculator to work out how much you might be entitled to. If you are already getting Tax Credits and/or Housing Benefit then seek advice before making a claim to make sure it is your best option. See our Coronavirus pages for more information.

The Basics

Your Universal Credit is a single payment that is made up of different amounts depending on your circumstances. It is assessed every month, at the end of your Assessment Period.

This assessment will take into account:

• Your personal circumstances on the date of the assessment.
  See Maximum Universal Credit.
  
  
• Any earnings you or your partner received during that Assessment Period.
  See How income affects your award.
  
  
• Any other income that you or your partner received (unless ignored).
  See How income affects your award.
  
  
• Any savings/capital between £6,000 and £16,000.
  See How savings affect your award.
  
  
• Whether you are affected by the Benefit Cap
  See Benefit Cap for more information.
  
  
• Whether there are any deductions to take into account.
  See Deductions for more information.

As your income and circumstances change, so will the amount of your Universal Credit award.

There are four steps to working out how much Universal Credit you will be paid

IMPORTANT