Universal Credit Sanction Calculator

How Universal Credit sanctions work

When you accept your claimant commitment you agree to things like going to appointments and looking for work. If you do not do what you agreed and DWP does not accept that you had a good reason, your payment can be reduced or stopped. This is called a sanction. It takes a set amount off for each day it lasts, deducted from your monthly Universal Credit.

Daily reduction rates for 2026/27

The daily rate is your standard allowance multiplied by 12, divided by 365 and rounded down to the nearest 10p. In a couple each partner is looked at separately, and half the rate applies to the partner who is sanctioned. A lower 40% rate applies in some cases, explained below.

How long a sanction lasts

The length depends on the level of the failure and on whether you had another sanction at the same level in the 365 days before it. For people aged 18 or over:

If the earlier failure was within 14 days of the new one, the new sanction is the same length as the earlier one rather than longer. At 16 or 17 the periods are shorter: 14 days, then 28, at higher level; 7 days, then 14, at medium level; and at low level the time until you comply, plus 7 days for a repeat. Outstanding sanctions can never add up to more than 1,095 days.

When the 40% rate or no reduction applies

The daily rate falls to 40% if, at the end of the assessment period, you are 16 or 17, you only have to attend work-focused interviews, or you have no work-related requirements because you are the main carer of a child under 1, a foster parent of a child under 1, an adopter within 12 months of the child being placed, or pregnant with 11 weeks or less to go or up to 15 weeks after the birth. The rate is nil if you have limited capability for work and work-related activity. If a medical professional has said you are nearing the end of life, you do not need a claimant commitment and will not get a sanction.

How the money is taken

For each assessment period, the reduction is the number of sanction days in that period multiplied by the daily rate. It can never be more than your standard allowance, or half of it when only one partner in a couple is sanctioned. The reduction usually starts from the first day of the assessment period in which DWP decides to reduce your award.

Worked example. A single claimant aged 25 or over leaves a job voluntarily without a good reason and gets a first higher-level sanction of 91 days. At £13.90 a day, a 30-day assessment period loses £417.00 of the £424.90 standard allowance. Over 91 days that is 3 × £417.00 + £13.90 = £1,264.90.

If you have been sanctioned

• Hardship payments. If you cannot pay for rent, heating, food or hygiene needs because of a sanction, you can ask Universal Credit for a hardship payment. Hardship payments are usually recoverable, which means they are paid back.
• Challenge the decision. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration, usually within one month of the date of the decision.
• Work can end a sanction. A sanction stops once you have been in paid work for at least six months in total since the last sanctionable failure, earning at least your individual threshold each month.

To see your whole award, try our Universal Credit calculator or the UC elements calculator.