Self Employed and Working Tax Credits

[startinganewlife]

I am self employed and looking at working tax credits. I havent had them before as husbands income is too high... but we are seperating so i will qualify. What i need to know is:

what evidence do i have to provide that i am working 16 hours per week?

i dont have regular work pattern yet (Its building up to that) so my weekly income varies from week to week...but reckon i do 16 hours a week in a combination of gardening/dog walking/making things to sell(in shops and online)....does time making things count?

i want to make sure i'm not breaking any rules in claiming that I'm doing 16 hours.

you don't ave to prove how many hours you work

we claimed for 5 years with my ex working for himself and were never asked for any proof

the biggest problem with tax credits is it's based on your previous year's income so it is very easy to be over paid and then you end up paying back

the first year you give them an estimate of your earnings and then when you do your tax return you give them your actual earnings

I do a variety of work; some employed and some self employed. I haven't had to prove exactly how many hours I do, although I have heard that some self employed people have been checked as some people will say they are doing 16+hours a week and are making virtually nothing at all. I have good records that show what I do. AFAIK any time doing something to do with the work counts so making things definitely would as you are making things to sell and make a profit (hopefully :))

Things will probably/possibly alter when Universal Credit comes in starting from 2013 especially with it being assumed that you would be earning at least minimum wage for the hours you are claiming I think. Not sure how workable this is, especially when you are building up business.

But anyway I would say you should be fine for now. And also hope you are OK - I separated from XH a few months ago and although it's mostly OK (especially weirdly enough financially) there are times when it is a bit not so good.

oh that sounds a bit more encouraging then... cos I will be better off claiming wtc than income support. My previous years income ... you mean 2011-2012? (i wont be able to make a claim until april as that is when husband is moving out) i earnt so little!!! so will that mean i could end up paying tax credits back if i earn reasonably in 2012-13?

What about school holidays? I would be able to keep 'making' and could work when dc are with husband, but my hours in gardening would be less... is it worked on an average number of hours a week.... otherwise i'm gonna end up having to find holiday childcare which is a nightmare where i live

you average your hours out over the year

yes you could end up paying back if you earn more this financial year but if you realise this part way through the year you can inform them and they will reduce/stop your payments so you are not stuck with a big bill

we had to pay back over 2k once as we thought the purchase of a new van would be off set against earnings but we could only off set a proportion of it and therefore massively underestimated earnings

bill came in when he was going through a lean spell too

check the hours thing - I have a sneaky feeling that from April this year you need to be working at least 24 hours a week to claim tax credits

you can always phone them up and adjust your earnings mid-year if things are going well, that way they should have a better record of your income, so pay you something like the correct amount

good luck :)

my sister said that if they overpay you you can pay it back by asking them to reduce your payments so its not one big bill???

good that i can average out my hours over a year.

could i start a claim for tax credits/working tax credits now? we are seperated but will be living in the same house until april....

i didnt think the 24 hours applied to lone parents?

there are different criteria for paying back -they like you to pay back immediately but you can negotiate this as long as it is paid off within the year. However if the amount you earn means you are only entitled to the basic, then stopping payments means they won't get their money back quickly enough so they expect a single payment

it won't hurt to ring up and ask about claiming now but I suspect you would be safer waiting until you no longer live under the same roof

I'm pretty sure the 24 hours doesn't apply to lone parents. There was a thread on here recently talking about it - will try and find it.

thank you QED... if you can find it that would be great xx

I had a look and have found it here:

If you're responsible for at least one child

You'll still qualify for Working Tax Credit if either of the following applies:

you're single and working at least 16 hours a week
you're in a couple, and meet the new hours rules for couples - see the section above

The 24 hours is for couples and says

"Couples with children - new working hours rules for Working Tax Credit

At the moment, if you're responsible for at least one child and working at least 16 hours a week, you can get Working Tax Credit.

From 6 April 2012, the rules for couples with at least one child are changing. In most cases, to qualify for Working Tax Credit your joint working hours will need to be at least 24 a week.

This will mean:

if you both work your joint weekly hours must be at least 24, with one of you working at least 16 hours a week
if only one of you works, that person must be working at least 24 hours a week

If neither of these apply, your Working Tax Credit will stop from 6 April 2012. But there are some exceptions to the new rules - see the sections listed just below.

You can increase the hours you work, so you would still be entitled to Working Tax Credit"

All those things come from here.

So lone parents will still get WTC working 16 hours a week :)

thank you thank you thank you QED.... feel reassured now!

that's good news :) sorry if I worried you starting