Self employed and struggling...

DazzaMc

I've been self employed as a private piano teacher since last january and have built up a good amount of students but moved out of my parents house last month and am finding it a struggle living on my own.. I share a flat with someone but it's still difficult. I just wondered if I would be entitled to receive any benefits etc... The kind of work I do is very unstable with students being ill, going on holiday etc so the income isn't fixed but it varies between £200-£250 a week usually... My rent is £237 then there are bills etc and I run a car...

I'm also looking to start college in september and wondered if it was possible to get this at the discounted rate.. Oh and I use my car for work and offset the mileage against my income for tax so not sure if that would increase my chance of receiving help as it reduces my taxable income quite a bit (40p a mile, last month I did 500 miles!)

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

podperson

If you are over 25 and work on average more then 30 hours a week then could apply for working tax credits. Could also apply for small amount of help with housing benefit/council tax due to low income although forms could get a little complicated due to self-employment and sharing a house always worth checking though.
Regarding college if you manage to get a benefit then should be automatically able to get the reduced rate. If not speak to the finance department as ask about applying based on low income.
Not sure on the car I'm afraid but am sure someone more knowlegable will come along soon

Caroline73_2

Is that usual that if a student goes on holiday or is ill they don't pay? As a parent whose children do various clubs and things I am surprised. I usually pay for things in a block and then if they can't go then we lose the money, if the teacher cancels I would not expect to pay. It maybe worth checking out other piano teachers and seeing what they do.

If you are using your car to travel to pupils houses then you could put 40p per mile as an expense and this would obviously decrease your profit so you would pay less tax - check out your local tax office as they run classes for the self employed.

paulwf

£250 a week is £13K a year. To be honest I'm not sure why you are asking about benefits...the sensible things to do are:

- head over to the debt free wannabe board and post your statement of affairs (SOA) to cut your outgoings

- go onto the small biz boards and discuss ways to guarantee your income and attract more business, you're at a "tipping point" where a couple more students could make a big difference to how much spending money you have

- take a part time job, perhaps work in retail or a bar for a few hours in the evening or 1 day at the weekend. You obviously have plenty of free time at the moment as you are looking to start college.

I used to live on a similar salary but had much higher rent and bills as I was living on my own...I know it can be scary managing money when you first leave home but with all due respect I think the answer is to cut costs, get more clients and take on another job not look for benefits.

DazzaMc

Thanks for the suggestions. As for the £250 figure, that's the max I earn and don't forget I'm spending about £80 of that a month on fuel. But you're right, I would be happier increasing my income with more work than a benefit anyway

jd82

You're earnings are probably too high to get tax credits. But most of your car running costs can be offset against tax.