Look out for a £10 Christmas bonus

If you receive certain benefits, you could be getting a £10 Christmas bonus from the department of work and pensions (DWP).

Here’s what you need to know.

What is the DWP Christmas bonus?

The Christmas bonus is a one-off, tax-free £10 payment for people on specific benefits.

It was introduced back in 1972 and, incredibly, it’s stayed at £10 ever since, apart from a temporary rise to £70 in 2008 during the financial crisis.

Many people have called for it to increase during the cost-of-living crisis, but the government has said it currently has no plans to raise or expand it.

Are you eligible?

To qualify, you need to be living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or Gibraltar during the qualifying week of 1 - 7 December.

Qualifying benefits

You must also receive one or more of the following benefits:

• adult disability payment (Scotland only)
• armed forces independence payment
• attendance allowance
• carer’s allowance
• carer support payment (Scotland only)
• child disability payment (Scotland only)
• 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 (Scotland only)
• pension credit – the guarantee element
• personal independence payment (PIP)
• Scottish adult disability living allowance (SADLA)
• state pension (including graduated retirement benefit)
• severe disablement allowance (transitionally protected)
• 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 if you’re part of a couple?

If both of you get a qualifying benefit, you each receive £10.

If your partner doesn’t get one, they may still receive the bonus if:

• you’re both over state pension age by the end of the qualifying week
• they were living in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, Gibraltar, EEA, or Switzerland that week

And one of the following also applies:

• you receive a benefit that includes an increase for them
• OR the only qualifying benefit you receive is pension credit

How you will be paid

You don’t need to do anything. The DWP will automatically pay you before 1 January 2026.

It will show up as a separate payment, normally labelled ‘DWP XB’.

If you believe you should have received it but haven’t seen the payment by 1 January, you can contact Jobcentre Plus or the Pension Service.

Find out more about the Christmas bonus on the government website