Benefits Calculator

If you have citizenship in a different country, but have come to the UK to live, you may still be entitled to benefits but this depends on your immigration status which tells us what you can do while in the UK.

In some cases, if you are not a UK citizen, making a benefit claim could affect your right to remain in the UK.

If any member of your household is not a British Citizen please answer 'no' to this question.

Your household includes your partner, if you have one, and any dependent children you are responsible for who live with you.

If you are not sure if you or a family member is a British Citizen read the UK Border Agency information about British Citizenship (opens in a new window) or you could find an adviser to speak to (opens in a new window).

You are an EEA National if you are a citizen of one of the European Economic Area Countries (opens in a new window)

If you are not a citizen of an EEA country you may have to apply for a visa to live in the UK. You may have been given Limited Leave to Remain or Enter, or Indefinite Leave to Remain or Enter, your documents from the Home Office will tell you which status you have.

You are an Asylum Seeker if you have left the country you are a citizen of because of a fear of persecution, you have applied to the UK government for protection and are waiting for the decision.

If you applied for asylum and the application was successful you have Refugee status.

If your immigration status is not listed here or your household is made up of more than one immigration status you should find an adviser to speak to (opens in a new window)

The Benefits Calculator does not currently calculate benefit entitlement for students, although we are aiming for this to be included in the future. This is because special rules apply and the results provided will not be accurate if you continue with the calculation. This includes students who are full time or part time, or in further, higher, advanced or non advanced education.

Please see our Student Guide for further information or use our Find an Adviser tool to find specialised advice in your local area.

Only answer ‘Yes’ if you are getting Universal Credit.

Universal Credit is a benefit which replaces Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.

Answer ‘Yes’ if you are receiving Income Support.

Income Support helps people who do not have enough to live on. It is only available for certain groups of people who do not get Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance and are not in full time employment.

Answer ‘Single’ if you’re claiming income support as a single person.

Answer ‘Couple’ if you live with a partner and you or your partner get income support for both of you.

Answer ‘My name’ if the claim is in your name.

Answer ‘My partner’s name’ if the claim is in your partner’s name.

If you’re not sure whose name the claim is in you could check one of your benefits letters.

If you get income support because one of you is a carer the claim will be in the name of the person who gets Carer’s Allowance.

Answer ‘Yes’ if you are receiving Income-based Jobseekers Allowance.

Income-based Jobseekers Allowance is a benefit for people who are not in full time work employment (work less then 16 hours per week) are capable of working and who are looking for work.

There are two types of Jobseekers Allowance. Contributory/New Style Jobseekers Allowance (based on your national insurance contribution record) and Income-based Jobseekers Allowance which is means-tested.

If you are not sure if you are getting Income-based Jobseekers Allowance – check your award letter or contact the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 169 0310.

Answer ‘Single’ if you’re claiming income-based JSA as a single person.

Answer ‘Couple’ if you live with a partner and you or your partner get income-based JSA for both of you.

Answer ‘My name’ if the claim is in your name.

Answer ‘My partner’s name’ if the claim is in your partner’s name.

If you’re not sure whose name the claim is in you could check one of your benefits letters.

Answer ‘Yes’ if you are receiving Income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance is a benefit for people who have a limited capability for work due to a sickness or disability.

There are two types of Employment and Support Allowance. Contributory/New Style Employment and Support Allowance (based on your national insurance contribution record) and Income-related Employment and Support Allowance which is means-tested.

If you are not sure if you are getting Income-related Employment and Support Allowance – check your award letter or contact the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 169 0310.

Answer ‘Single’ if you’re claiming income-related ESA as a single person.

Answer ‘Couple’ if you live with a partner and you or your partner get income-related ESA for both of you.

Answer ‘My name’ if the claim is in your name.

Answer ‘My partner’s name’ if the claim is in your partner’s name.

If you’re not sure whose name the claim is in you could check one of your benefits letters.

If only one of you has an illness or disability that affects their ability to work the claim will be in the name of the person with the disability.

Answer ‘Yes’ if you are receiving Housing Benefit.

If you are on a low income and have to pay rent, Housing Benefit helps with paying the rent and some service charges.

Answer ‘Yes’ to this question if you are receiving Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit or both.

Working Tax Credit is a benefit for working people on a low income. Child Tax Credit is a benefit to help with the costs of bringing up a child.

Answer ‘Single’ if you made your current claim for tax credits as a single person.

Answer ‘Couple’ if you made a joint claim for tax credits as a member of a couple.

Answer ‘Yes’ if you are receiving Pension Credit.

Pension Credit is a benefit paid to older people on a low income. To receive Guarantee Pension Credit you must have reached the Pension Credit qualifying age. For Women this is when they reach state pension age. Men can get Guarantee Pension Credit when they reach the state pension age of a woman with the same date of birth as them.

Your date of birth affects entitlement to some benefits and tax credits, and your pension age

You must be at least 16 years old to have your own benefit claim.

If you are 16 or 17 years old special rules apply so you should find an adviser to speak to (opens in a new window) about your benefit entitlement.

We need to know if you are male or female to work out your State Pension age (opens in a new window).

If you have a disability you may qualify for a disability benefit or you may get extra in your benefits because of the extra costs a disability can bring

If you have any day-to-day care or mobility needs, or your illness or disability affects your ability to work, answer 'yes' to this question.

We need to know if you are living with a partner as you may need to be treated as a couple when working out your benefit entitlement.

Answer 'yes' to this question if you:

• are married or registered as civil partners and living together as husband and wife or civil partners
• are not married or registered as civil partners but are living together as if you were
• usually fit one of the options above but your partner is not living with you on a temporary basis, for example they are in hospital

if you are unsure whether your partner should be included in your benefit calculation you should find an adviser to speak to. (opens in a new window)

Married couples and civil partners can share their personal allowances (the amount they can earn without paying tax). This means that if one member of a couple is working and the other isn't, the one who is working can benefit from the other's tax free allowance as well as their own.

You can read more about how the marriage allowance works on the Marriage Allowance page of the gov.uk website.

Your partner's date of birth affects entitlement to some benefits and tax credits, and their pension age.

Your partner must be at least 16 years old to have a joint benefit claim with you.

If they are aged 16 or 17 special rules may apply so you should find an adviser to speak to. (opens in a new window)

We need to know if your partner is male or female to work out their State Pension age (opens in a new window).

If your partner has a disability they may qualify for a disability benefit or they may get extra in their benefits because of the extra costs a disability can bring

If your partner has any day-to-day care or mobility needs, or their illness or disability affects their ability to work, answer 'yes' to this question.

A dependant child is a child that you are responsible for (they usually live with you all or most of the time and you get Child Benefit for them).

When you answer this question, count all of the children that you are responsible for, even if you are subject to the Two Child Limit. Include any child who is away from home temporarily, for example in hospital or on holiday. You may also qualify for child related benefits if you can show you have responsibility for and are paying to support a child you are looking after in a private, informal fostering arrangement.

Do not include any child that receives a benefit in their own name, such as Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment & Support Allowance or Universal Credit. Do not include any child that is in care or that the local authority is paying you an allowance to look after, for example, a fostering allowance. You do not qualify for child related benefits for these children.

If you are not sure whether to include them you should find an adviser to speak to. (opens in a new window)

Please select Yes or No

Entitlement to some benefits and tax credits may be affected by the birth of a child.

If you are expecting a child we will ask for your due date next.

Enter the expected date that the baby is due here.

If you do not yet know the expected due date, enter an approximate due date.

If you are an approved foster carer (formal kinship carer in Scotland) you may be allowed an extra bedroom when working out your Housing Benefit as long as your home has the extra room needed. This applies whether or not a child is placed with you or you are between placements, so long as you have fostered a child, or become an approved foster carer, in the last 12 months.

For information, please contact your local authority.

If you receive a Fostering Allowance please don’t include this as income on the Income for Benefits screen as it is ignored when calculating your entitlement to benefits. On the Income for Tax Credits screen, only include the amount of your Fostering Allowance that is taxable. You can read about how much of your Fostering Allowance is taxable on the Foster Carers page of the gov.uk website.

Please select the option that is relevant for your foster carer status.

Please select Yes or No

We need to know which of the following is your housing status:

• Private tenant - you have a formal agreement to pay rent to a private landlord for the property you live in. This includes temporary accommodation if your rent is paid to a private landlord.
• Social tenant - you are a council tenant or housing association tenant. You have a formal arrangement to pay rent to a social landlord, for example a local authority or housing association, for the property you live in.
• Owner mortgaged - you have an outstanding mortgage on the property you live in.
• Owner no mortgage - you own the property you live in with no outstanding mortgage.
• Shared owner - you are part renting and part buying your property.
• Temporary accommodation - you have been placed in temporary accommodation by a local authority because you are homeless or you are living in a hostel because of domestic violence.
• Supported accommodation - you live in property owned by a local authority, a charity or a housing association and your accommodation comes with care, support or supervision.
• Living with parents - you live in your parent’s property with your parents.
• Tenant, not liable to pay rent - you are allowed to stay in the accommodation rent-free at the permission of the owner, and the owner lives elsewhere.
• Other - You have an informal arrangement, which may or may not include paying a contribution towards housing costs for the property you are living/ staying in; or you have no fixed address and are staying at different places during the week.
• Homeless - If you are homeless and have nowhere to stay, we will not be able to calculate your benefits accurately in all situations. You should instead seek specialist housing and benefits advice (opens in a new window).

You may be a care leaver if you were looked after by a local authority when you left school and for at least 13 weeks after your 14th birthday. If you are not sure whether you are a care leaver, check the Are you a care leaver? page of the Coram website.

If you are a care leaver and you are aged over 18 and under 22, you may be exempt from the rules that stop some 18-21 year olds getting the Housing Element of Universal Credit to help pay for their rent. If you are a care leaver living in private rented accommodation, your Housing Benefit (or Housing Element of Universal Credit) may be based on you needing one bedroom in a self-contained property. If you think you qualify, you should click ‘yes’.

You may not get Housing Benefit even if you are care leaver if:

• You are under 18 and Social Services are responsible for accommodating you;
• You live in a care home;
• You are a ‘person from abroad’ or ‘subject to immigration control’.

For further information please contact your local authority.

You are usually in shared accommodation if you have sole use of one bedroom and share one or more of a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, living room or dining room.

If you are eligible for Housing Benefit or the Housing Element of Universal Credit, your entitlement will be based on you needing one bedroom in shared accommodation unless you:

• Are over 35 and living in self-contained accommodation with at least one bedroom;
• Are a couple and living in self-contained accommodation with at least one bedroom;
• Qualify for a severe disability premium;
• Are a care leaver aged over 18 and under 22;
• Are aged 25 or over and have been in a hostel for the homeless for three months and received support to resettle in the community;
• Are a recent offender deemed to be a risk to the public

For further information, please contact your local authority.

For some benefits, your entitlement and the amount you may get depends on where you live.

In order to receive an accurate calculation you must provide your postcode.

The benefits available to you may vary depending on the country you live in.

Please select your country from the drop down list

For some benefits, your entitlement and the amount you may get depends on where you live.

Please choose your local authority from the drop down list.

Your local authority is who you pay your Council Tax to so you will find this on a Council Tax Bill.

Enter the first day of your parental leave. If you have not started your leave yet and you want to see your entitlement for when you do, please enter today's date for accurate results.

How long you have been on leave may affect which benefits you can claim.

Enter the first day of your sick leave.

How long you have been off sick may affect which benefits you can claim.

Enter the amount of hours you worked each week before your leave started.

If you have more than one job, put in the total hours that you would be working if you were not on leave.

If you don't have a fixed number of hours each week, please look at our Calculating work hours: Fluctuating hours page to see how to work out your work hours.

If you have more than one job please add together the number of hours you work at each job and give us the total.

If you don't work a fixed number of hours each week please see our information sheet that explains how to calculate your hours of work (opens in a new window)'

If you are on Maternity, Adoption, Paternity or Sick leave and enter the number of hours you worked prior to your leave we can check entitlement to Working Tax Credit. If you enter zero hours we can check your entitlement to out-of-work benefits such as Income Support or income-based Employment and Support Allowance.

Please do not include any hours you spend doing permitted work (opens in a new window) while claiming Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or Income Support on the grounds of disability.

Enter the first day of your partner's parental leave. If your partner has not started their leave yet and you want to see your entitlement for when they do, please enter today's date for accurate results.

How long your partner has been on leave may affect which benefits you can claim.

Enter the first day of your partner's sick leave.

How long your partner has been off sick may affect which benefits you can claim.

Enter the amount of hours your partner worked each week before their leave started.

If they have more than one job, put in the total hours that they would be working if they were not on leave.

If your partner doesn't have a fixed number of hours each week, please look at our Calculating work hours: Fluctuating hours page to see how to work out their work hours.

If your partner has more than one job please add together the number of hours they work at each job and give us the total.

If your partner doesn't work a fixed number of hours each week please see our information sheet that explains how to calculate your hours of work (opens in a new window)'

If your partner is on Maternity, Adoption, Paternity or Sick leave and you enter the number of hours they worked prior to their leave we can check entitlement to Working Tax Credit. If you enter zero hours we can check entitlement to out-of-work benefits such as Income Support or income-based Employment and Support Allowance.

Please do not include any hours you spend doing permitted work (opens in a new window) while claiming Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or Income Support on the grounds of disability.

Only one person can claim Carer's Allowance for looking after the same person. Please note that if you care for more than one person you should only enter information for the person you care for the most . And please note that if your partner is caring for more than one person information should only be entered for the person they care for the most.

Carer's Allowance is paid to people who look after someone with substantial caring needs.

If you are already claiming Carer’s Allowance (opens in a new window) we will calculate the extra amounts you may get in your other benefits because you are getting Carer's Allowance.

If the person you care for is getting a disability benefit because of their illness or disability please select the benefit they are receiving from the drop down list.

If you are not sure which disability benefit they get it will be mentioned on any benefit letter they may have about the claim.

If the person you are caring for does not have a benefit letter you could call, with their agreement, the disability benefits helpline on 0800 121 4600 or textphone 0800 121 4523 for further information. For Personal Independence Payment call 0800 121 4433 or textphone 0800 121 4493, Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm.

To qualify for Carer’s Allowance you must be providing regular and substantial care for 35 hours or more for a disabled person who is getting a qualifying disability benefit. You cannot average your hours in week with those in another.

You do not qualify for Carer’s Allowance if you are in full-time education or if someone else is already claiming Carer’s Allowance for looking after the same person.

If you care for someone for at least 20 hours a week, while you may not be entitled to Carers Allowance you may be awarded a Carers Credits (National Insurance credit)

Getting a Carer’s Credit can help with gaps in your National Insurance record caused by you being unable to work because of your caring responsibilities. Your State Pension is based on your National Insurance record.

If you are in paid work you might still be able to get Carer's Allowance but you must not earn more than £123 in take home pay each week, certain expenses can be deducted from this, for example childcare costs.

It does not matter if you have savings as these will not be taken into account.

You do not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get Carer's Allowance. If you earn more than £123 in take home pay each week and you are entitled to Universal Credit you may still be able to receive a carer’s element within your award.

Carer's Allowance is paid to people who look after someone with substantial caring needs.

If your partner is already claiming Carer’s Allowance (opens in a new window) we will calculate the extra amounts you may get in your other benefits because they are getting Carer's Allowance.

If the person your partner is caring for is getting a disability benefit because of their illness or disability please select the benefit they are receiving from the drop down list.

If your partner is not sure which disability benefit the person they care for is getting it will be mentioned on any benefit letter the person may have about the claim.

If the person your partner is caring for does not have a benefit letter with their agreement the disability benefits helpline 0800 121 4600 or textphone 0800 121 4523 could be contacted for further information. For Personal Independence Payment call 0800 121 4433 or textphone 0800 121 4493, Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm

To qualify for Carer’s Allowance your partner must be providing regular and substantial care for 35 hours or more for a disabled person who is getting a qualifying disability benefit . Your partner cannot average their hours in one week with those in another.

Your partner does not qualify for Carer’s Allowance if they are in full-time education or if someone else is already claiming Carer’s Allowance for looking after the same person.

If your partner is caring for someone for at least 20 hours a week, while they may not be entitled to Carers Allowance they may be be awarded Carer's Credits (National Insurance Credit)

Getting a Carer’s Credit can help with gaps in your partner's National Insurance record caused by not being able to work because of their caring responsibilities. Your partner's State Pension is for example based on their National Insurance record.

If your partner is in paid work they might still be able to get Carer's Allowance but they must not earn more than £123 in take home pay each week, certain expenses can be deducted from this, for example childcare costs.

It does not matter if your partner has savings as these will not be taken into account.

Your partner does not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get Carer's Allowance. If your partner earns more than £123 in take home pay each week and they are able to claim Universal Credit they may still be able to receive a carer’s element within this award.

Please confirm whether you want the Carer's Allowance calculation to be made for you or your partner by selecting 'You' or 'Partner'.