Does receiving child maintenance affect my Universal Credit in 2026/27?

Full answer

Child maintenance is treated very favourably by the benefits system. For the parent receiving it, maintenance for a child is completely disregarded when calculating Universal Credit, no matter how much is paid. This is different from earnings, which reduce your award through the 55% taper, and from some other unearned income, which can reduce it pound for pound. So if you receive GBP 400 a month in child maintenance, your Universal Credit stays exactly the same as if you received nothing. This rule applies whether the arrangement is a private family-based agreement or runs through the Child Maintenance Service. The position is different for the parent who pays maintenance. Their liability is normally based on their income, and if they fall behind, the Child Maintenance Service can take deductions directly from their earnings or even from their own Universal Credit to recover arrears. Receiving maintenance also does not affect Child Benefit, which is a separate payment unaffected by maintenance income, although Child Benefit can be reduced by the High Income Child Benefit Charge once the higher earner's adjusted net income exceeds GBP 60,000. Because maintenance is ignored, it is one of the few sources of extra money that does not erode your means-tested support, which can make a meaningful difference to a single-parent household budget. Capital and savings rules still apply to your overall Universal Credit claim, so large lump sums held in savings could affect your award. Use a budget planner to factor maintenance into your household income, and check the rules on GOV.UK.

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More answers

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