What are capital disregards?

All capital is taken into account as capital unless it can be treated as unearned income or disregarded.

Capital disregards are amounts that the claimant has, but which is not taken into account when considering entitlement to Universal Credit or calculating any assumed yield income.

Any capital, income or earnings of any dependant children will be fully disregarded for the purpose of Universal Credit.

A claimant has to provide all necessary evidence to show that any capital they have can be disregarded. If there is no evidence to show that capital can be disregarded, it is included when working out the amount of capital an assessment unit has.

If a reclaim to Universal Credit is made, checks must be done to see whether any capital disregards for benefit arrears should be removed.

Capital can be disregarded: Click each link for more information 
• indefinitely
• for an extended period
• for a period of up to 12 months
• for a period of up to 6 months
• for more than 6 months if it is reasonable