Guidance

Cost of Living Payments 2022 to 2024

Guidance on getting extra payments to help with the cost of living from 2022 to 2024 if you were entitled to certain benefits or tax credits.

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published
13 March 2023
Last updated
23 February 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

You may have been entitled to payments to help with the cost of living if you were getting certain benefits or tax credits on certain dates between 2022 and 2024.

You do not need to apply for these payments. If you’re eligible, you’re paid automatically in the same way you usually get your benefit or tax credits. This includes if you’re found to be eligible at a later date.

If you have had a message asking you to apply or contact someone about the payment, this might be a scam.

These payments are not taxable and do not affect the benefits or tax credits you get.

If you have received a Cost of Living Payment, but we later find that you were not eligible for it, you may have to pay it back.

Low income benefits and tax credits Cost of Living Payment

You may have been entitled to Cost of Living Payments of £326, £324, £301, £300 and £299 if you got any of the following benefits or tax credits on certain dates:

  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
  • Income Support
  • Pension Credit
  • Universal Credit
  • Child Tax Credit
  • Working Tax Credit

You will not get a payment if you were only getting New Style ESA, contributory ESA, or New Style JSA.

Universal Credit eligibility and payment dates

Amount of payment Cost of Living Payment eligibility Payment dates
£299 You were entitled to a payment of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 13 November 2023 to 12 December 2023 Between 6 February and 22 February 2024 for most people
£300 You were entitled to a payment of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 18 August 2023 to 17 September 2023 Between 31 October and 19 November 2023 for most people
£301 You were entitled to a payment of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 January 2023 to 25 February 2023 Between 25 April and 17 May 2023 for most people
£324 You were entitled to a payment of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022 Between 8 and 23 November 2022 for most people
£326 You were entitled to a payment of Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 Between 14 and 31 July 2022 for most people

Your payment might come later, for example if you’re awarded a qualifying benefit at a later date or you changed the account your benefit was paid into. You will still be paid the Cost of Living Payment automatically.

Income-based JSA, income-based ESA, Income Support and Pension Credit eligibility and payment dates

Amount of payment Cost of Living Payment eligibility Payment dates
£299 You were entitled to a payment of the benefit for any day in the period 13 November 2023 to 12 December 2023 Between 6 February and 22 February 2024 for most people
£300 You were entitled to a payment of the benefit for any day in the period 18 August 2023 to 17 September 2023 Between 31 October and 19 November 2023 for most people
£301 You were entitled to a payment of the benefit for any day in the period 26 January 2023 to 25 February 2023 Between 25 April and 17 May 2023 for most people
£324 You were entitled to a payment of the benefit for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022 Between 8 and 23 November 2022 for most people
£326 You were entitled to a payment of the benefit for any day in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 Between 14 and 31 July 2022 for most people

You’re also eligible if you were entitled to income-based JSA, income-based ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day during the eligibility period but you did not receive a benefit payment because your entitlement was between 1 penny and 9 pence.

Your payment might come later, for example if you’re awarded a qualifying benefit at a later date or you changed the account your benefit was paid into. You will still be paid the Cost of Living Payment automatically.

Tax credits eligibility and payment dates

Amount of payment Cost of Living Payment eligibility Payment dates
£299 You received a payment of tax credits in respect of any day in the period 13 November 2023 to 12 December 2023 Between 16 February and 22 February 2024 for most people
£300 You received a payment of tax credits in respect of any day in the period 18 August 2023 to 17 September 2023 Between 10 November and 19 November 2023 for most people
£301 You received a payment of tax credits in respect of any day in the period 26 January 2023 to 25 February 2023 Between 2 May and 9 May 2023 for most people
£324 You received a payment of tax credits in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022 Between 23 and 30 November 2022 for most people
£326 You received a payment of tax credits in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 Between 2 and 7 September 2022 for most people

If you were getting both Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, you’re entitled to a Cost of Living Payment for Child Tax Credit only, paid by HMRC.

If you were getting tax credits from HMRC and a low income benefit from DWP, you cannot get a Cost of Living Payment from both HMRC and DWP. You will usually be paid by DWP only.

Your payment might come later, for example if you’re awarded tax credits at a later date or you changed the account your tax credits were paid into. You will still be paid the Cost of Living Payment automatically.

Joint claims

If you had a joint claim on the qualifying dates, you’re entitled to a single payment of £326, £324, £301, £300 and £299, sent by the same payment method used for your benefit or tax credits between these dates.

When you are not eligible: DWP benefits

You are not eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if your benefit was reduced to £0 for the qualifying period. This is sometimes called a ‘nil award’.

Reasons your benefit may be reduced to £0 include:

  • you got more than one payment of earnings in your Universal Credit assessment period
  • your or your partner’s earnings went up
  • your or your partner’s savings went up
  • you started getting another benefit
  • you got a ‘sanction’ because you did not do something you agreed in your claimant commitment

You may still be eligible for a Cost of Living Payment if your benefit was reduced to £0 and one of the following applies:

  • money was taken off your benefit for other reasons, such as payments of rent to your landlord or for money that you owed
  • you had a hardship payment because you could not pay for rent, heating, food or hygiene needs

When you are not eligible: tax credits

You are not eligible for the Cost of Living Payment if your tax credits entitlement for the tax year is below £26.

Disability Cost of Living Payment eligibility

You may have been entitled to 2 Disability Cost of Living Payments of £150 if you were getting any of the following benefits on certain dates:

  • Attendance Allowance
  • Constant Attendance Allowance
  • Disability Living Allowance for adults
  • Disability Living Allowance for children
  • Personal Independence Payment
  • Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
  • Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
  • Armed Forces Independence Payment
  • War Pension Mobility Supplement

Disability Cost of Living Payment eligibility and payment dates

Disability Cost of Living Payment eligibility Payment dates
You received a payment of one of these benefits for 1 April 2023 Between 20 June 2023 and 4 July 2023 for most people
You received a payment of one of these benefits for 25 May 2022 Between 20 September 2022 and the beginning of October 2022 for most people

Your payment might come later, for example if you’re awarded a qualifying benefit at a later date or you changed the account your benefit is paid into. You will still be paid the Cost of Living Payment automatically.

If you were getting a qualifying benefit from the Ministry of Defence and a qualifying benefit from DWP, you get a Disability Cost of Living Payment from DWP only.

Guidance on the Disability Cost of Living Payment is also available in easy read format. Disability Cost of Living Payment easy read (PDF, 2.45 MB, 8 pages)

Report a missing Cost of Living Payment

Most people should have received their Cost of Living Payment.

Contact the office that pays your qualifying benefit or tax credits if you think you were eligible for a Cost of Living Payment but you cannot see it in your bank, building society or credit union account.

Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

If you were entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022 to 2023 or winter 2023 to 2024, you will have got an extra £150 or £300 paid with your normal payment. This was in addition to any Cost of Living Payment you got with your benefit or tax credits.

The full amount of Winter Fuel Payment (including the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) you got depended on when you were born and your circumstances:

Other help

Find out what other benefits and financial support you might be able to get to help with your living costs.

Use an independent benefits calculator to find out what benefits you could get.

You may be able to get other kinds of support, including:

Updates to this page

Published 13 March 2023
Last updated 23 February 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added guidance on how to report a missing £299 Cost of Living Payment.

  2. Added the qualifying dates and payment dates for the £299 Cost of Living Payment for low income benefits and tax credits.

  3. If you were expecting a £300 Cost of Living Payment (paid between 31 October and 19 November 2023 for most people) and have not received it, you can now report it missing.

  4. Updated timings for the £299 Cost of Living Payment from 'spring 2024' to 'by spring 2024'.

  5. Added the qualifying dates and payment dates for the £300 Cost of Living Payment for low income benefits and tax credits.

  6. You can now report a missing Disability Cost of Living Payment by telephone.

  7. Added guidance on how to report a missing £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.

  8. Added easy read guidance about the Disability Cost of Living Payment.

  9. Added the qualifying date and payment dates for the Disability Cost of Living Payment.

  10. Added link to report a missing £301 Cost of Living Payment for low income benefits and tax credits.

  11. Clarified that you will not get a Cost of Living Payment for a low income benefit if your benefit is reduced to £0 because you got a ‘sanction’ because you did not do something you agreed in your claimant commitment. But you may get a Cost of Living Payment if you had a 'hardship payment' because you got a 'sanction'.

  12. In the section about the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, corrected the eligibility date for the Winter Fuel Payment. You can get a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024 if you were born before 25 September 1957, not 24 September as the guidance previously said.

  13. The £301 Cost of Living Payment for people on tax credits and no other low income benefits will be paid between 2 and 9 May 2023 for most people.

  14. Published the eligibility dates and payment dates for the £301 Cost of Living Payment for people on a low income benefit.

  15. Added translation

  16. First published.

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