Benefits finder

Money you may be entitled to and are not claiming

Answer a few questions about your household and see which of 61 benefits, discounts, grants and tax breaks you could claim under the 2026/27 rules, including the obscure ones nobody tells you about. It takes about three minutes and nothing you type leaves your browser.

No account, no email, no postcode
Every rule cites its official source
Sends you to GOV.UK to claim, never to us

Step 1 of 5: About you

Where do you live?

Benefits differ across the four nations, so this changes what you are checked against.

Your age

Do you live with a partner?

How many other adults live with you?

Aged 18 or over, not counting you or your partner. Grown-up children count.

Every answer stays in this browser. We never see it.

Your answers stay with you

Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and you do not need an account. Your answers are saved in your own browser so you can come back to them, and a Start again button wipes them whenever you like.

Rules, not guesses

You are checked against the official criteria, using the 2026/27 rates from the DWP rate sheet, and every result links to the GOV.UK, mygov.scot, GOV.WALES or nidirect page it came from so you can read the rule yourself. No AI decides anything here.

Honest about limits

A screen can tell you what is worth your time; only the DWP, HMRC, your council or the NHS can decide. So every card says why you matched, what could still rule you out, and links straight to the official calculator or claim.

The full list

Everything the finder checks

61 schemes across the four nations, grouped by what they are for. The ones people miss most often are the small council discounts, the National Insurance credits and the one-off grants with deadlines.

Income and tax

Universal CreditUK-wideFrom £425 a month for a single person over 25, plus rent, children and other elements
Marriage AllowanceUK-wide£252 a year, and up to four years backdated in one go
Help to SaveUK-wideUp to £1,200 of free bonus over four years
New-style Employment and Support AllowanceUK-wideAround £95.55 a week for over-25s, more after assessment
New-style Jobseeker's AllowanceUK-wideAround £95.55 a week for over-25s, for up to 182 days

Children and family

Child BenefitUK-wide£27.05 a week for your first child, £17.90 a week for each other child
Unclaimed Child Trust FundUK-wideAverage pot about £2,200, some far more
Healthy StartEngland, Wales, NI£4.65 a week per child or pregnancy, £9.30 a week for a baby under one
Best Start Grant and Best Start FoodsScotlandAt least £750 for a first baby, plus £11.20 a week of food money for a baby under one
Scottish Child PaymentScotland£28.20 a week for every child under 16
Sure Start Maternity GrantEngland, Wales, NI£500 one-off
Maternity AllowanceUK-wideUp to £194.32 a week for 39 weeks
Free school mealsUK-wideAround £500 a year per child, plus pupil premium funding for the school
School uniform grantUK-wideTypically £100 to £200 a child each year
Funded childcare hoursUK-wideWorth thousands a year: 30 hours at a nursery is often £7,000 or more
Tax-Free ChildcareUK-wideUp to £2,000 a child each year, £4,000 for a disabled child

Disability

Council tax severe mental impairment discountEngland, Scotland, Wales25% to 100% off, and refunds often go back years
Council tax disabled band reductionEngland, Scotland, WalesOne band lower, typically £200 to £400 a year
Personal Independence PaymentUK-wide£30.30 a week to £194.60 a week, tax-free
Disability Living Allowance for a childUK-wideFrom £30.30 a week up to over £190 a week, tax-free
Blue BadgeUK-wideFree or cheaper parking; up to £10 to issue
Vehicle tax exemption or 50% discountUK-wideUp to about £200 a year
Disabled Facilities GrantEngland, Wales, NIUp to £30,000 in England, means-tested for adults, not for children
Access to WorkUK-wideGrants often run to thousands of pounds a year
Disabled person's bus passUK-wideFree bus travel

Caring for someone

Carer's AllowanceUK-wide£86.45 a week, plus National Insurance credits
Carer's CreditUK-wideProtects roughly £350 a year of State Pension for every year credited
Grandparent childcare creditsUK-wideRoughly £350 a year of extra State Pension for life, for each year credited
Young Carer GrantScotlandAbout £400 a year

Later life

Pension CreditUK-wideTops income up to £238.00 a week single or £363.25 a week as a couple, more with a disability or caring
Housing BenefitUK-wideUp to your full rent, depending on income
Lone Pensioner AllowanceNI20% off your rates
Attendance AllowanceUK-wide£76.70 a week or £114.60 a week, tax-free
Winter Fuel PaymentUK-wide£200 a household, £300 if someone is over 80
Free TV licenceUK-wideOver £170 a year
Older person's bus passUK-wideFree bus travel, easily hundreds of pounds a year

Health costs

Free NHS prescriptionsEngland£9.90 saved on every item
Prescription prepayment certificateEnglandSaves money from the second item a month; £120 a year at two items a month
NHS Low Income SchemeUK-wideFree dental care and sight tests; a full HC2 is worth hundreds a year
Free NHS dental treatmentUK-wide£27.40 to £326.70 saved per course of treatment
Free NHS sight testEngland, Wales, NIAround £25 to £30 saved per test, plus glasses vouchers on a benefit

Home and bills

Council Tax ReductionUK-wideUp to 100% off your council tax bill
Council tax single person discountEngland, Scotland, Wales25% off your bill, often £400 to £600 a year
Second adult rebateEngland, ScotlandUp to 25% off your bill
Warm Home DiscountEngland, Scotland, Wales£150 off your electricity bill
Cold Weather PaymentUK-wide£25 for each cold spell
Priority Services RegisterUK-wideFree protection, not cash
Broadband and mobile social tariffsUK-wideBroadband from about £12 a month; often £200 a year saved
Water company social tariffEngland, WalesTypically £100 to £300 a year off the water bill
WaterSure bill capEngland, WalesBill capped at the regional average, often saving £100 or more
Warm Homes: Local GrantEnglandImprovements often worth £5,000 to £30,000, paid for you
Boiler Upgrade SchemeEngland, Wales£7,500 off a heat pump, £9,000 if you heat with oil or LPG
Home Energy Scotland grant and loanScotlandUp to £7,500 in grant, £9,000 in rural areas
Warm Homes Nest schemeWalesFree improvements, often worth thousands
Affordable Warmth SchemeNIImprovements worth up to £7,500

Right now

Crisis and Resilience FundUK-wideVouchers, cash or goods, often £50 to £500
Discretionary Housing PaymentScotland, Wales, NITops up rent for a fixed period, sometimes the whole shortfall
Budgeting Advance or Budgeting LoanUK-wideUp to £348 single, £464 as a couple, £812 with children
Energy supplier hardship grantsUK-wideGrants of several hundred to a few thousand pounds written off
Bereavement Support PaymentUK-wide£2,500 then £100 a month; £3,500 then £350 a month if you get Child Benefit
Funeral Expenses PaymentUK-wideNecessary fees in full plus up to £1,000 towards other costs

Where the rules come from

Rates are the 2026/27 figures, last checked on 6 September 2026. Each card in your results links to the page its rule was written from. These are the official pages every check is drawn from, so you can read any rule for yourself.

Questions about the benefits finder

Is this an official benefits calculator?

No. It screens your answers against the published rules and sends you to the official calculator or application for anything it finds. The government-recommended calculators, entitledto and Turn2us, do a full calculation once you have decided what to look at. This finder is for the step before that: knowing what is worth looking at, especially the obscure things a calculator never mentions.

Why does it ask about a severe mental impairment or a bereavement?

Because those two questions unlock some of the most-missed help there is. A council tax exemption for someone with dementia can be backdated for years, and Bereavement Support Payment is lost altogether if nobody claims within 21 months. We ask plainly, once, and the answer stays on your device.

What does the money figure mean?

It adds up the things marked worth claiming now, using the lowest rate each one pays. So it is a floor, not a promise. The real figure is often higher once the official calculator adds elements we cannot see, such as housing costs or a disability award at the higher rate.

Do you really not see my answers?

Correct. The questions, the rules and the results all run in your browser. There is no submit button and nothing is posted to LiveCheaper or anyone else. Your answers are kept in your browser's own storage so you can come back to them, and Start again deletes them.

How current are the figures?

Every rule carries the 2026/27 rate year and the date we last checked it, 6 September 2026. Rates change every April and schemes open and close during the year, which is why each card links to the live official page rather than trusting our copy.

I got nothing. Is that right?

Sometimes yes: a working couple with savings over £16,000 and no children, caring or health issues really does not qualify for most things. Check the worth-a-look list, and come back when circumstances change. Council tax band checks and social tariffs are worth a look regardless.