Self employed on Working Tax Credits - Could I get LHA?

finance-boy

Hi everybody.

I'm currently on Jobseekers Allowance and claiming LHA (Local Housing Allowance), but I'd like to go self employed.

My earnings won't be great and I'll be working a lot of hours, so I know that I'd be entitled to Working Tax Credits, BUT would the Working Tax Credits automatically entitle me to LHA?

I went into the housing office and the woman there said that it would be based on my income, so I'd have to go in every month with all my receipts and bank statements and hope that they decide to give me the LHA, which sounds like a right headache.

Not least because I hardly ever receive my post where I live and the LHA people refuse to send letters to my mum's address (where all my other letters go), so they'll probably send me loads of letters asking for proof, etc that I just won't get, and then they'll cancel my claim.

But the woman at the housing office didn't really seem to know what she was talking about. And she admitted that she didn't know anything about WTCs.

But since WTCs are based on my income anyway, and I only have to inform them IF my earnings go over the threshold, then I'd much rather do it that way.

karenx

If your earnings vary then yes you will need to take in a profit and loss account to HB so they can calculate your entitlement.
Dont need to take all receipts etc just your profit and loss statement.
Being on WTC doesnt automatically entitle you to LHA

finance-boy

Awww, that's not what I wanted to hear.

What's it like, though, dealing with them that way? Are they always sending you letters and asking for proof? Cause if so, it just wouldn't work out for me.

And am I definitely entitled to it so long as my earnings don't exceed a certain amount? According to the woman in the housing office, they look at it on a case-by-case basis every month, more like a charity. I don't want them to just decide one month that I don't get it.

karenx

Well there could be a point where one month you dont qualify and other months your entitlement changes. Thats what happens when you have a varied income
Yes they will expect you to send in or go in with the documents every month or every 3 months

finance-boy

Oh dear, it all sounds rather unpleasant. Thanks anyway.

Hammyman

finance-boy wrote: »

Awww, that's not what I wanted to hear.

What's it like, though, dealing with them that way? Are they always sending you letters and asking for proof? Cause if so, it just wouldn't work out for me.

Why? You should be keeping up to date with your books so should be able to provide them with what they ask. They will want up to date books every 3 months.

Your WTC will be taken into account and what you are awarded will be based on your income which is WTC plus profit or minus loss from self employment.

Why wouldn't you get letters addressed to the address you'd be claiming LHA for? It sounds very dodgy TBH.

Hammyman

finance-boy wrote: »

Oh dear, it all sounds rather unpleasant. Thanks anyway.

If you think that taking in your books once a month is hassle then you'd better forget self employment. It requires a lot of hassle. You're obviously suited to a life on the dole where the only thing you need to do is sign on once a fortnight - assuming that's not too much hassle.

finance-boy

No need for the insults, Hammyman. You don't know me at all, and to call me lazy just because I'm on the dole makes you prejudiced, stupid, and downright unpleasant.

My flat is above a shop, and while I do have a postbox, I only seem to receive about 1 in 5 letters addressed to me there (going by the odd letters I do get that refer to past letters that I never received). I've asked the housing office to send them to my mum's address but they won't entertain the idea, so I can't claim LHA if they're going to be sending me letters all the time asking me to do things.

Is that so hard to understand?

Blackpool_Saver

If you are going down the self-employed route then surely you will be setting aside time to do your books/paperwork, why not do your profit and loss as a matter of course at the same time and mail it to them, if you have this attitude with accounts I am not sure self employed is the right way forward for you, sorry don't mean to offend.

Wee_Willy_Harris

finance-boy wrote: »

No need for the insults, Hammyman. You don't know me at all, and to call me lazy just because I'm on the dole makes you prejudiced, stupid, and downright unpleasant.

My flat is above a shop, and while I do have a postbox, I only seem to receive about 1 in 5 letters addressed to me there (going by the odd letters I do get that refer to past letters that I never received). I've asked the housing office to send them to my mum's address but they won't entertain the idea, so I can't claim LHA if they're going to be sending me letters all the time asking me to do things.

Is that so hard to understand?

Well, you could always set aside 5 minutes each week to give them a quick ring if it helps overcome the post issue. They will be able to tell you if they have sent a letter and what info they may need. The benefit is to YOUR benefit, after all.

finance-boy

Thanks. That's a much nicer way of putting it. But it's not so much that I'll have to take my accounts in, but that they'll probably be sending me letters all the time telling me to take my accounts in, which I probably won't get.

At the moment, I don't really have any contact with them. I don't have to keep going in to prove that I'm still on the dole, so I don't miss any letters, and everything goes like clockwork. If they had a similar way of dealing with self-employed people then it wouldn't be a problem for me.

EDIT: Thanks WWH, I suppose I could try that.