Checking what you are entitled to: free calculators and advisers

A benefits calculator is a free online tool that estimates what you could claim, based on the details you type in. Turn2us says its personalised check takes less than 10 minutes, and the calculators offered by councils and the Department for Work and Pensions are free and anonymous¹. They have replaced the old Benefits Adviser service¹.

The estimate is a starting point, not a decision. A calculator can show whether you would qualify for Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Council Tax Reduction and other income-based support, and how your payments would change if you started work or changed your hours¹. It cannot tell you whether you will be awarded a disability benefit such as Personal Independence Payment, though it can show what extra help you would get if you were⁴.

If you want a person rather than a form, Citizens Advice gives free advice by phone, email and face to face, and Turn2us runs a grants helpline on 0808 802 2000⁵. Charitable grants are separate from benefits and do not have to be paid back⁷.

Free benefits calculators: a full check in under 10 minutes

The pitch is simple: you answer questions about your household, and the tool works out what you could be entitled to. Turn2us describes a free personalised benefits check that takes less than 10 minutes, and the same wording appears across its guidance pages². The charity's calculator gives an estimate of how much money you could be entitled to depending on what benefits you could claim¹³.

Anyone over 18 can use the Turn2us calculator to check which benefits they can get¹⁴. Older people can use it to check what they might be entitled to quickly and easily². The Department for Work and Pensions has three calculators of its own, and independent, free and anonymous calculators are the recommended starting point for checking what you might be entitled to¹.

Before you start, gather accurate information. The calculators ask about your savings, your income including a partner's, existing benefits and pensions including anyone living with you, outgoings such as rent, mortgage and childcare payments, and your Council Tax bill¹. Having payslips and bills to hand makes the estimate more reliable.

What a benefits calculator covers, from Universal Credit to Council Tax Reduction

Coverage varies by tool, but the main calculators work across the means-tested system. One council-run calculator, using Policy in Practice, covers income-related benefits, tax credits, contribution-based benefits, Council Tax Reduction, Carer's Allowance and Universal Credit, and shows how these are calculated and how your benefits will be affected if you start work or change your working hours¹.

Universal Credit sits at the centre of that picture. Before applying, Scope advises using a benefits calculator to check whether other benefits will affect your Universal Credit payments¹⁵. In Northern Ireland, Universal Credit replaces six existing benefits and tax credits: Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit¹⁶. If you are moving across from those legacy benefits, the moving to Universal Credit rules on transitional protection are worth reading alongside your calculator result.

Other calculators cover a narrower or differently framed set. Central Credit Union's tool covers Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Council Tax Support or Reduction and other income-based support¹⁷. The Debt Advice Foundation offers a free online calculator that identifies what benefits you may be entitled to based on your current circumstances and how to make a claim¹⁸.

Council Tax Reduction is often the piece people miss. It is a separate local scheme, and if you disagree with a decision on it, there is a challenge route¹⁹. The same applies to Housing Benefit decisions, where you can ask for the decision to be looked at again²⁰.

Turn2us or entitledto: how the free calculators differ

Both are free and anonymous, and both give an estimate rather than a decision. The practical differences are in who runs them and what they do alongside the calculation.

Turn2us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services²¹. Its calculator is supplied by the charity and is aimed at a broad audience, including older people checking what they might be entitled to². It also sits next to the charity's grants search, so a single visit can cover both benefits and charitable funds.

entitledto is the engine behind many calculators run by councils, housing associations, credit unions and advice agencies, including the Policy in Practice calculator described above¹. Its own guidance covers areas such as home improvement grants, pointing people in Wales to Care and Repair Cymru²².

One limit applies to both. The Turn2us Benefits Calculator indicates possible eligibility to benefits and other help, including Personal Independence Payment, but does not calculate them²³. A calculator result is an estimate of entitlement, not an award.

Charitable grants: searching over 1,600 funds

Charitable grants are one-off payments from grant-giving funds, separate from the benefits system, and they do not have to be paid back⁷. Turn2us says it can search over 1,600 charitable grants for you, and its grants search covers over 1,700 funds⁸. A search takes less than five minutes on average²⁴.

Eligibility depends on the fund, not on a national rule. Conditions can include having particular disabilities or illnesses, working or having previously worked in specific jobs or industries, living in a particular area of the UK, or being in a particular age group²⁵. That is why a search across many funds matters more than applying to one.

How a grant is paid also varies. You may be paid by cheque or through a direct bank transfer using a system like the Bankers Automated Clearing System (BACS); some funds pay an adviser organisation instead, and some give grants as gifts in kind rather than cash²⁵. Response times vary from charity to charity, depending on resources, assessment procedures and whether committees or staff assess applications²⁵.

Where a calculator stops: Turn2us cannot advise on your situation

A calculator produces a number. It does not read your circumstances, and it does not represent you. Turn2us states plainly that it is unable to offer advice on individual situations, and repeats that limit across its guidance²⁷.

That matters most where the rules are discretionary or where evidence decides the outcome. A calculator cannot tell you whether you will be entitled to disability benefits, though it can show whether you would be entitled to extra benefits if you get one⁴. It cannot weigh a change of circumstances, a decision you want to challenge, or a delay in payment.

For those questions, a benefits adviser is the route. Turn2us has a Find an Adviser tool for locating a local one²⁰, and Shelter also points people to benefits advice services¹⁰. Turn2us itself states that it is unable to offer advice on individual situations¹⁹.

If you are already in arrears while you wait, separate help exists. Council Tax arrears, rent arrears for private tenants, high gas and electricity bills and buy now pay later debts all have their own guidance routes³⁰. Free advice on debt and other money problems is available from Citizens Advice³³.

Citizens Advice: free help by phone, email or face to face

Citizens Advice offers face-to-face advice, advice over the phone on 0808 223 1133, and advice by email⁵. Its consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133, and a Welsh-speaking adviser can be reached on 0808 223 1144⁹. A national phone service is also listed on 03444 111 444³⁴.

For a new Universal Credit claim, the Help to Claim service is the specific route. Call a Help to Claim adviser at Citizens Advice on 0800 144 8 444 or use their online chat¹⁰. In Scotland, Help to Claim advisers have supported over 100,000 people with new Universal Credit claims³⁵. If you are claiming in Scotland, Shelter Scotland sets out how to apply for Universal Credit³⁶.

Citizens Advice also handles complaints about goods and services, referring them to local Trading Standards Officers who may then investigate on your behalf, and sharing complaint information nationally with enforcement authorities including Trading Standards, the Competition and Markets Authority and regulators³⁷. It offers a free service including help with gambling problems³⁸. Where a complaint is about a financial firm, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints involving cost of living³³.

How to contact Citizens Advice in Scotland or Northern Ireland

Citizens Advice Scotland can offer help and advice if you have money worries or questions about benefits³⁹. You can call free on 0800 028 1456, go to cas.org.uk, or visit your local branch⁴⁰. One listing gives a separate number, 0345 404 0506³¹.

For Northern Ireland, the sources here do not give a dedicated Citizens Advice number. The practical route is your local Citizens Advice office or Advice NI. Universal Credit operates in Northern Ireland under its own arrangements, replacing the same six benefits and tax credits as in Great Britain¹⁶.

Where you live also changes which grants exist. In Wales, home improvement grant enquiries go to Care and Repair Cymru²², and a grant to help with living costs does not have to be paid back⁷. The Discretionary Assistance Fund is the Welsh crisis and community care grant scheme. In Scotland, the Scottish Welfare Fund provides Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants, and Carers UK Scotland lists grants and schemes for people who are disabled, ill or injured⁶.

How to find a benefits adviser near me

Start with the Turn2us Find an Adviser tool, which lists local benefits advisers²⁰. If you are challenging a Housing Benefit decision, contact a benefits adviser and use the tool to find a local one²⁰. The same advice applies to a Council Tax Support decision¹⁹.

That includes the parts a calculator cannot do: gathering evidence, filling in forms, and putting your case if a decision goes against you.

Other routes to a person rather than a form:

• Turn2us grants helpline: 0808 802 2000 for help with charitable grants⁶
• Citizens Advice: face to face, by phone on 0808 223 1133, or by email⁵
• Help to Claim: 0800 144 8 444 or online chat for a new Universal Credit claim¹⁰
• OPFS advisers: free benefits checks over the phone via the helpline or through webchat⁴¹
• Shelter: benefits advice services, particularly where housing is at risk¹⁰

Some organisations run their own checks. Nationwide's free Better Off Indicator, open to customers and non-customers, became available to Virgin Money customers across online, phone, branch and app channels⁴². That is a provider's own figure for its own service.

Where the free help stops, and what to do next

Free calculators, free helplines and free advice services cover a great deal, but each has an edge. A calculator gives an estimate and cannot advise on your situation²⁷. Turn2us cannot advise on individual situations². A helpline can explain the rules but cannot decide your claim.

What protects you is the process. Decisions on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support can be challenged²⁰, and the challenging a decision route sets out mandatory reconsideration and redetermination. If a financial firm has treated you badly, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints involving cost of living³³. Consumer protection rights apply to goods and services you buy³⁷.

The practical sequence is: run a calculator to see the shape of what you might get, search charitable grants if a one-off cost is the problem, then take anything complicated to a benefits adviser or a charity helpline. If you are on a low income and struggling with essentials, help with NHS health costs, social tariffs for broadband, phone and water, and food bank referrals are separate routes worth checking⁴³.