How much Budgeting Loan/Advance will I get?
There are three rates of Budgeting Loan/Advance, depending on whether you are single, a couple without children or a one or two parent family with children. You can get up to the following maximum amounts:
The minimum amount of Budgeting Loan/Advance that you can get is £100. You cannot get more than it is thought you can pay back.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) decides how much Budgeting Loan/Advance you can actually receive. There is no entitlement to receive the full amount.
You cannot get a second Budgeting Advance before you have fully paid off the first, so even if your first advance was for less than the maximum amount, you cannot 'top up' your advance to the full amount.
Repaying a Budgeting Loan/Advance
If you are given a Budgeting Loan/Advance, it has to be paid back but you do not have to pay interest on the loan.
A Budgeting Loan should normally be repaid within two years.
A Budgeting Advance should normally be repaid within one year, extendable to 18 months in exceptional circumstances.
Benefit Cap
A Budgeting Loan/Advance is not included in the Benefit Cap which limits the total amount in some benefits that working-age people can receive. See our Benefit Cap guide for more details.
How will I be paid a Budgeting/Loan Advance?
A Budgeting Loan/Advance will be paid directly into your Bank or Building Society account or through the Payment Exception Service if you are unable to open or manage one of these or a similar account.
Budgeting/Loan Advance and other benefits
A Budgeting Loan/Advance does not count as income and will not affect other benefits you get.