Government to review the two-child benefit limit
Ministers confirmed a formal review of the two-child limit on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit. Any change would not take effect until at least 2027.
By Money Guide editorial team
Published:
The government has confirmed a formal review of the two-child limit on benefits, which restricts Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit child elements to the first two children in most households. The cap has applied to children born on or after 6 April 2017.
Estimates from the Resolution Foundation and Child Poverty Action Group suggest scrapping the cap would lift around 250,000 children out of poverty at an annual cost of around £2.5 billion. Adjusting the cap to exempt third and subsequent children below a certain age would cost less.
The review will report later this year, with any change expected to take effect from April 2027 at the earliest. Existing exemptions — for example, for multiple births and adopted children — remain in place.
Families affected by the cap can use independent benefit calculators (Turn2us, EntitledTo, Policy in Practice) to check whether they qualify for any non-capped support, including local authority Household Support Fund grants.