Tax Credits Calculator (Legacy)

Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025, when the last Working Tax Credit (WTC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) claimants were moved onto Universal Credit, so nobody receives them for 2026/27. The calculator keeps the final 2024/25 rules for anyone checking an old award: WTC needed at least 30 hours of work a week for someone aged 25 to 59 without children, 16 hours for a lone parent, a disabled worker or anyone 60 or over, and 24 hours between a couple with children, one of whom worked at least 16. The basic element was £2,435 a year, the couple and lone parent element £2,500 and the 30-hour element £1,015.

Child Tax Credit paid £3,455 per child (the child element) for the first two children, and for any others only if born before 6 April 2017 or an exception applied, plus a family element of £545 where at least one child was born before that date. Under those final rules entitlement was reduced by 41% of household income above £7,955 for those receiving both WTC and CTC, or £19,995 for CTC-only claimants. A couple with 2 children working 35 hours a week on £25,000 shows how fast the taper bit, because a maximum entitlement of £13,405 lost £6,988.45 to the income taper, leaving an award of £6,416.55 for the year.

No new claims for Tax Credits had been taken since 2019, and the last claimants were moved across during 2024/25 by Migration Notices, each giving 3 months to claim Universal Credit. Tax credits then ended on 5 April 2025, so anyone who missed a deadline, or whose circumstances have changed since, needs to claim Universal Credit directly at gov.uk/universal-credit.

If you receive a migration notice, you may be eligible for transitional protection so that your income does not drop. Your UC award cannot start below what the old benefits paid, and the difference is added as a top-up that erodes over time as UC rates rise. Migrating voluntarily before your notice arrives forfeits the protection. Once awarded, it ends if a single claim becomes a joint claim or the reverse, if earnings that started at or above the administrative earnings threshold fall below it for three assessment periods in a row, or if the UC award ends for any reason other than higher earnings.

Universal Credit combines 6 legacy benefits, namely WTC, CTC, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance and Housing Benefit. It pays a standard monthly allowance plus elements for children, disability, caring and housing. Earnings above the work allowance cut the award through a 55% taper. Capital of £16,000 ends a claim outright. Self-employed claimants meet the minimum income floor once they have been trading for 12 months. The whole claim is made online at gov.uk/universal-credit.

Childcare is where the change hurts most. Tax Credits paid childcare costs up front, straight towards the nursery or childminder bill, whereas Universal Credit reimburses up to 85% only after you have paid, capped at £1,071.09 a month for one child and £1,836.16 for two or more. Families crossing over often face a cashflow gap of a month or more with the nursery still expecting payment. The Childcare Choices website is the place to compare the UC element against Tax-Free Childcare and the 30 hours of free childcare for working parents.