Two-Child Limit Scrapped: How Much More Universal Credit You Get, and When the Benefit Cap Takes It Back
Since 6 April 2026 Universal Credit pays £303.94 a month for every child. But the benefit cap is frozen, so some families keep little or none of it.
Since 6 April 2026 the two-child limit no longer applies, so Universal Credit pays £303.94 a month for every child (£351.88 for a first child born before 6 April 2017). The benefit cap stayed at £1,835 a month outside London and £2,110.25 in London, so capped families can keep only part of the extra, or none, unless they are exempt.
The two-child limit in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit ended on 6 April 2026. Universal Credit now pays a child element of £303.94 a month for every child, plus an extra £47.94 (so £351.88) for a first child born before 6 April 2017. But the benefit cap was not raised: it stays at £1,835 a month outside Greater London and £2,110.25 inside it. A family already at the cap can gain little or nothing. Our two-child limit and benefit cap checker estimates both sides.
What changed
The government's announcement says the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act received Royal Assent on 18 March 2026 and took effect from 6 April 2026. Families already claiming Universal Credit had the update applied automatically. The government estimates 450,000 children will be lifted out of poverty by the final year of this Parliament and says up to 1.5 million children could be helped.
The 2026/27 figures
| Item (Universal Credit, a month) | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Child element, each child | £303.94 |
| Child element, first child born before 6 April 2017 | £351.88 |
| Standard allowance, single 25 or over | £424.90 |
| Standard allowance, couple (one or both 25 or over) | £666.97 |
| Work allowance (with housing costs / without) | £427 / £710 |
| Benefit cap, couples and lone parents, outside Greater London | £1,835 |
| Benefit cap, couples and lone parents, Greater London | £2,110.25 |
Rates are from DWP's Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 and match GOV.UK's Universal Credit: what you'll get, which now says £303.94 "for each child that lives with you". The cap amounts are on GOV.UK's benefit cap amounts page and are unchanged from 2025/26. Universal Credit goes down by 55p for each £1 of take-home pay above the work allowance (GOV.UK).
Why the benefit cap matters
The cap limits the total of certain benefits a working-age household can get. Universal Credit and Child Benefit both count (GOV.UK benefit cap). If the total is over the cap, Universal Credit is cut by the difference. So a new child element only helps a capped family if there is room under the cap.
Three examples from the checker, all for a single parent aged 25 or over with three children, the eldest born before 2017, no earnings, outside London, and one child who used to be excluded by the limit:
- Housing costs of £700 a month: Universal Credit was already above the cap before April, so the extra £303.94 is all taken back by the cap. Gain: £0.
- Housing costs of £400 a month: before April the family was under the cap; the new child element pushes it over. Gain: about £81.93 a month, not £303.94.
- The same family in work, taking home £881 a month or more: the cap does not apply, so the family keeps the full £303.94, because the earnings taper reduces the award by the same amount before and after the change.
These are estimates for illustration. Your own figure depends on your full claim.
Who is exempt from the cap
GOV.UK's when you're not affected page lists the exemptions. You are not capped if:
- you and your partner take home £881 or more a month combined from work,
- you get Universal Credit because a health condition stops you working, or because you care for a disabled person,
- you, your partner or a child living with you gets an exempting benefit, such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Carer Support Payment, Guardian's Allowance or a war pension,
- you are over State Pension age (for couples, the cap may still apply if one of you is younger).
If your earnings drop, the cap may not start for 9 months, depending on what you earned before.
What the checker leaves out
Childcare costs, disabled child additions, the health and carer elements, deductions, sanctions, other capped benefits, the 9-month grace period and Scottish Child Payment. It asks you how many children were excluded by the limit rather than working it out, because exceptions (such as multiple births and adoption) applied.
For your real figure, use one of the calculators GOV.UK lists on its benefits calculators page (entitledto, Turn2us or Policy in Practice), or check the statement in your Universal Credit journal.
Sources
GOV.UK news, 19 March 2026; DWP, Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 (updated 16 February 2026); GOV.UK pages on Universal Credit, earnings and the benefit cap. All checked 18 October 2026.