Self employed and claiming WTC

[ajshard]

Does anyone know how this is calculated if you have no idea of your weekly earnings? I would think many weeks could be spent just advertising etc and therefore income would be zero.

When starting up a new business do you know if it only counts once you are ready to begin or whether you can count hours whilst setting up, ie setting up a website etc, trips to wholesalers etc?

I will be entitled to 80% of my childcare costs once working but cannot afford the childcare out of my pocket so need to be self employed sooner rather than later so I have the time to get things up and running, does this make sense?

Have rang the WTC helpline but they dont seem to understand what I'm getting up, can anyone here help please.

Thankyou

 

[loubylou]

In a nut shell, you will not be entitled to working tax credits until you are running a full time business,
as soon as you register with the tax office as self employed is when you can start to make a claim for working tax credits,
they wont give you working tax credits for getting your business ready this has to be done in your time and at your own cost, hth

 

[jes]

Normally, with things like this, you have to predict your annual profit and they work out your entitlement from that. At the end of the year they'll see your actual takings by looking at your self assessment tax return and either take the deficit or add the credit to the next years payments.

 

[Bagpuss]

Normally, with things like this, you have to predict your annual profit and they work out your entitlement from that. At the end of the year they'll see your actual takings by looking at your self assessment tax return and either take the deficit or add the credit to the next years payments.

this is what i was told and what i did.....i estimated what i would earn....then in April when they sent me a renewal form i put my actual earnings...if you have been over paid or under paid they put it right or let you know how you can put it right.

From their site....

It is a tax credit available to working families who are responsible for at least one child under 16 (or under 19 if in full-time education up to A-level or equivalent standard). It is payable to two-parent and one-parent families. The applicant or the partner (if they have one) must be working 16 hours or more per week.

This helps you work out what you should be entitled too....

Working Families Tax Credit Calculator

 

[bombini]

I think you will have to give them an estimate of what you expect your first years annual turnover to be although im not 100% sure on this as when I started claiming id already been self employed 2 years.

I think you should call them and ask again as thinking about it don't they work a year behind ? So they work out the current years benefit entitlement on your income from the previous year ? Hope that makes sense, i think ive confused myself now.

Its also worth bearing in mind that tax credits can take ages to sort out (4 months for mine) so you will more than likely need to cough up a couple of months worth of childcare before they backdate any money due.

 

[kylieb]

I just told them I was going self employed from a certain date. They wanted to know hours I was working and how much I would be earning. To claim I needed to be working 16 hours or more and leaflet drops etc were included in that time.
They are usually really helpful. Maybe you just spoke to someone that doesnt know what they were doing. Try them again hun xxx

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

I was told that you can include admin type stuff as part of your working hours but not before you start working...only after you have started doing clients can you then put down x amount of time per week for admin such as delivering leaflets, visiting suppliers etc etc.

 

[kirsty]

I think they use both last years income, along with an estimate for this year to work out your entitlement.