How much is the DWP Christmas Bonus in 2026?

It is £10, paid once, tax-free. The amount has been £10 since the bonus was introduced in 1972 and has never been increased, which is why it buys so much less than it did. It is paid on top of your normal benefit or State Pension payment, not instead of it.

Do I need to claim the Christmas Bonus?

No. If you qualify you are paid automatically into the account where your State Pension or benefit is paid. There is no form and no phone call needed. If you think you should have had it and nothing has arrived by 1 January, contact the office that pays your qualifying benefit - the Pension Service if you are on the State Pension.

How does the Christmas Bonus show on my bank statement?

It usually appears as a separate credit with the reference "DWP XB", where XB stands for Xmas Bonus. Because it is only £10 and arrives alongside larger payments, plenty of people never notice it. If you are checking whether you received it, look for that reference rather than for a change in the size of your normal payment.

Who qualifies for the Christmas Bonus?

You qualify if you are present or ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week, and you receive at least one of 24 qualifying benefits in that week. The State Pension is on the list, so most pensioners get it automatically. The full list also includes Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and the guarantee element of Pension Credit.

Do both members of a couple get the Christmas Bonus?

Each person who qualifies in their own right gets their own £10, so a couple who both receive the State Pension get £20 between them. If only one of you receives a qualifying benefit, only that person gets the bonus. There is a narrow exception where a married person, civil partner or someone living with a partner can qualify on their partner’s entitlement if both are over State Pension age in the qualifying week and other conditions are met.

Is the Christmas Bonus taxable or does it affect my other benefits?

No on both counts. It is tax-free, and it does not count as income for any means-tested benefit. Receiving it will not reduce Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Universal Credit, and it does not count towards the benefit cap. You do not need to declare it on a tax return.

Why is the Christmas Bonus still only £10?

Because it has never been uprated. The bonus was introduced in 1972 at £10 and the figure has been left unchanged ever since, while prices have risen many times over. It is not covered by the triple lock or by the annual benefit uprating process, so unless a government legislates to change it, it stays at £10. Campaign groups periodically call for it to be raised or scrapped, but no change has been made.

Can I get the Christmas Bonus if I live abroad?

Only if you are present or ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week. Living elsewhere in the EU or the wider world normally rules you out, even if you still receive a UK State Pension. This is one of several ways in which moving abroad quietly reduces what a UK pensioner receives - our guide to the State Pension abroad covers the bigger issue of frozen uprating.

I get Universal Credit - do I get the Christmas Bonus?

Not on the basis of Universal Credit alone, because it is not on the qualifying list. You would need to also receive one of the 24 qualifying benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Allowance, during the qualifying week. The same applies to Housing Benefit and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, neither of which qualifies on its own.

DWP Christmas Bonus 2026: £10, who gets it and when

The qualifying week

Entitlement is decided by your circumstances during the qualifying week, which GOV.UK defines as normally the first full week of December. For 2026 that is Monday 30 November to Sunday 6 December 2026.

You must be receiving at least one qualifying benefit at some point in that week, and be present or ordinarily resident in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or Gibraltar. Starting a qualifying benefit on 10 December is too late for that year; stopping one on 20 December makes no difference, because the week has already passed.

The 24 qualifying benefits

Receiving any one of these during the qualifying week is enough. Most pensioners qualify through the State Pension without ever thinking about it.

Adult Disability Payment
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Attendance Allowance
Carer’s Allowance
Carer Support Payment
Child Disability Payment
Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
Disability Living Allowance
Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
Mobility Supplement
Pension Age Disability Payment
Pension Credit - the guarantee element
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
War Widow’s Pension
Widowed Mother’s Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance
Widow’s Pension

What is not on the list

Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support and income-related Employment and Support Allowance do not qualify on their own. Note also that it is only the guarantee element of Pension Credit that counts, not Savings Credit, and that contribution-based ESA only qualifies once the main phase begins after the first 13 weeks.

Couples

The bonus is paid per person, not per household. A couple who both receive the State Pension get £10 each, so £20 in total. If only one of you receives a qualifying benefit, only that person is paid.

There is one narrow extra route. A husband, wife, civil partner or someone living with a partner may qualify on their partner's entitlement where both are over State Pension age by the end of the qualifying week and other conditions are met. It is worth checking if one of you receives nothing in your own right.

How and when it arrives

Payment is automatic, into the same account as your State Pension or qualifying benefit, usually within the first two or three weeks of December. It normally appears as a separate credit referenced "DWP XB" rather than being rolled into your normal payment.

Because it is small and lands in a busy month, plenty of people never notice it. If you want to check, look for that reference on your statement rather than for a change in the size of your usual payment. If nothing has arrived by 1 January, contact the office that pays your qualifying benefit.

Do not confuse the bonus with your normal December payment being brought forward. Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday, so many people are paid early that week. Our guide to State Pension payment dates sets out exactly which National Insurance numbers are affected and when the money lands.

Scenario

Brian and Sheila

Married, both 73, both on the State Pension

Situation: Brian and Sheila both receive the full new State Pension. Sheila also gets Attendance Allowance following a stroke.

Both qualify through the State Pension, so they receive £10 each, £20 in total.
Sheila does not get a second £10 for Attendance Allowance - the bonus is once per person, however many qualifying benefits you receive.
Neither payment is taxable and neither affects anything else they claim.
Sheila's Attendance Allowance is worth far more: £76.70 or £114.60 a week, which is between £3,988 and £5,959 a year.

Why it is still £10

The Christmas Bonus was introduced in 1972 at £10 and has never been increased. It sits outside the annual benefit uprating process and outside the triple lock, so unlike the State Pension it does not rise with inflation or earnings. Left unchanged for more than half a century, its real value has been eroded almost entirely - £10 in 1972 bought something in the order of a hundred pounds' worth of goods today.

It survives largely because removing it would be politically awkward and increasing it would be expensive across millions of recipients. For planning purposes, treat it as a rounding error rather than part of your December budget.

Where the real money is

If the Christmas Bonus brought you to this page, it is worth ten minutes on the entitlements that are actually worth something. These are the ones most commonly missed by pensioners:

Pension Credit: tops a low income up to a guaranteed minimum of £238 a week for a single person or £363.25 for a couple in 2026/27, and unlocks a long list of other help. Around two in five eligible households never claim it. Savings do not automatically disqualify you - see how savings affect Pension Credit.
Attendance Allowance: £76.70 or £114.60 a week if illness or disability means you need help looking after yourself. Not means-tested, tax-free, and it can increase a Pension Credit award.
Winter Fuel Payment: £100 to £300 for winter 2026/27, with a £35,000 income clawback and a September opt-out deadline.
Cold Weather Payment: £25 for each seven-day freezing spell between 1 November and 31 March, for people on qualifying benefits.
Council Tax Reduction: can be worth well over £1,000 a year and is administered locally, so it is easy to overlook.

Our benefits and entitlements hub has a screener that estimates what you might be missing.

Best rates for over-50s

See today’s best savings rates

Most over-50s are losing money in old savings accounts paying under 1%. Compare FSCS-protected accounts paying 4%+ today.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How much is the DWP Christmas Bonus in 2026?: It is £10, paid once, tax-free. The amount has been £10 since the bonus was introduced in 1972 and has never been increased, which is why it buys so much less than it did. It is paid on top of your normal benefit or State Pension payment, not instead of it.
When is the Christmas Bonus paid?: It is paid during December, based on your circumstances in the qualifying week, which is normally the first full week of December. For 2026 that is Monday 30 November to Sunday 6 December. Most people see it in their account within the first two or three weeks of December, usually as a separate line from their normal payment.
Do I need to claim the Christmas Bonus?: No. If you qualify you are paid automatically into the account where your State Pension or benefit is paid. There is no form and no phone call needed. If you think you should have had it and nothing has arrived by 1 January, contact the office that pays your qualifying benefit - the Pension Service if you are on the State Pension.
How does the Christmas Bonus show on my bank statement?: It usually appears as a separate credit with the reference "DWP XB", where XB stands for Xmas Bonus. Because it is only £10 and arrives alongside larger payments, plenty of people never notice it. If you are checking whether you received it, look for that reference rather than for a change in the size of your normal payment.
Who qualifies for the Christmas Bonus?: You qualify if you are present or ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week, and you receive at least one of 24 qualifying benefits in that week. The State Pension is on the list, so most pensioners get it automatically. The full list also includes Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and the guarantee element of Pension Credit.
Do both members of a couple get the Christmas Bonus?: Each person who qualifies in their own right gets their own £10, so a couple who both receive the State Pension get £20 between them. If only one of you receives a qualifying benefit, only that person gets the bonus. There is a narrow exception where a married person, civil partner or someone living with a partner can qualify on their partner’s entitlement if both are over State Pension age in the qualifying week and other conditions are met.
Is the Christmas Bonus taxable or does it affect my other benefits?: No on both counts. It is tax-free, and it does not count as income for any means-tested benefit. Receiving it will not reduce Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or Universal Credit, and it does not count towards the benefit cap. You do not need to declare it on a tax return.
Why is the Christmas Bonus still only £10?: Because it has never been uprated. The bonus was introduced in 1972 at £10 and the figure has been left unchanged ever since, while prices have risen many times over. It is not covered by the triple lock or by the annual benefit uprating process, so unless a government legislates to change it, it stays at £10. Campaign groups periodically call for it to be raised or scrapped, but no change has been made.
Can I get the Christmas Bonus if I live abroad?: Only if you are present or ordinarily resident in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week. Living elsewhere in the EU or the wider world normally rules you out, even if you still receive a UK State Pension. This is one of several ways in which moving abroad quietly reduces what a UK pensioner receives - our guide to the State Pension abroad covers the bigger issue of frozen uprating.
I get Universal Credit - do I get the Christmas Bonus?: Not on the basis of Universal Credit alone, because it is not on the qualifying list. You would need to also receive one of the 24 qualifying benefits, such as Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Allowance, during the qualifying week. The same applies to Housing Benefit and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, neither of which qualifies on its own.