Universal Credit standard allowance rates rise in April 2025

The Universal Credit standard allowance rose in April 2025. For a single person aged 25 or over the rate went from £393.45 a month in 2024/25 to £400.14, and for a couple where both are 25 or over it went from £617.60 to £628.10¹. The standard allowance is the base amount in Universal Credit, before any extra elements such as those for children, childcare or housing costs.

The increase was described by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) as a rise of 1.7 per cent, worth £6.69 a month for a single person over 25¹. NIESR published its assessment in its UK Living Standards Review 2025 Part Two on 30 April 2025, which also noted that the 2025 Spring Statement announced cuts to health-related benefits that it said are projected to push a further 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty¹.

Separately, the maximum amounts claimable through the Universal Credit childcare element also changed from 6 April 2025. The cap is £1,031.88 a month for one child and £1,768.94 for two or more². The childcare element covers up to 85 per cent of childcare costs². The OECD records the previous caps as £1,014.63 for one child and £1,739.37 for two or more from April 2024, themselves raised from £950.92 and £1,630.15 in summer 2023⁴.

The work allowance, the amount a claimant can earn before Universal Credit starts to be reduced for those with children or limited capability for work, was £411 a month for those receiving housing support and £684 a month for those not receiving housing support from 6 April 2025⁴. The taper rate at which Universal Credit is withdrawn as earnings rise has been 55 per cent since 24 November 2021⁴.

Why it matters for households

The standard allowance is the floor of a Universal Credit award, so the April 2025 figures set the base amount for new and existing claimants in that year. The £6.69 monthly increase for a single person aged 25 or over is the amount NIESR attributes to the 1.7 per cent uprating¹. Extra amounts on top depend on circumstances, including children, disability, caring responsibilities and help with rent.

Housing support is determined separately by Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, which NIESR says have been frozen for seven of the last 14 years and are frozen again from April 2025¹. LHA rates were set at the median of local rents when introduced in 2008 and reduced to the 30th percentile in 2011¹. NIESR notes that LHA rates are calculated from a survey of tenancies and that it is not mandatory for landlords to provide this information, which it says risks rates not reflecting actual local rental costs¹.

For families using childcare, the element is paid in arrears: the payment arrives the month after the childcare is paid for and the expense recorded². Claimants must use a registered provider and share its registration number². Tax-Free Childcare cannot be used at the same time as Universal Credit or tax credits, and opening a Tax-Free Childcare account stops those benefits².

What happens next

Gingerbread states that from September 2025 working parents with children under 5 will be entitled to 30 free hours of childcare a week, following 15 hours for eligible children aged 9 months and older from September 2024². It also states that the older benefits being replaced by Universal Credit, including Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit for people of working age and income-related Employment and Support Allowance, will be replaced by March 2026³. The OECD describes claimants being migrated to Universal Credit by 2028⁴. Gingerbread lists a standard allowance from 6 April 2026 of £338.58 a month for single claimants under 25 and £424.90 for single claimants 25 or older, and states that the two-child limit on Universal Credit payments has been abolished³.