Working tax credit - better to work over 16 or 30 hours

xgirl

I'm a self-employed graphic designer with 2 dependent children and 2 children at uni, whose husband was made redundant 3 months ago.

I've only just discovered that I may be entitled to working tax credit and/or child tax credit. As a self-employed person I am getting less than 30 hours paid work per week and sometimes less than 16 hours, but I can say honestly that I work 40 hours because I can fill in the time doing unpaid marketing and speculative work.

At the moment I'm on course to earning about £8000 in the year ending 2011, unless a miracle happens, so does the number of hours I put on the application form make a difference to what I receive?

Hammyman

The difference is £500 a year. But as a self employed person, its all hours that count, not just the paid ones. For me that was 60+hrs a week for the first few weeks when I was setting up my business, all of it unpaid.

xgirl

so is it better to say I'm working more or less hours?

Indie_Kid

You put down the hours you work, including all the admin and accountancy stuff.

xgirl

I know but quite honestly I will simply do less or more admin, and less or more unpaid speculative work if I am going to be get more working tax credit. So do they give you more if you work over 30 hours or do they give you more if you work less than 30 hours

Indie_Kid

You get a premium for work 30 hours.

compoff

So the more tax credits you would get, the less you would want to work?

AnxiousMum

xgirl wrote: »

I know but quite honestly I will simply do less or more admin, and less or more unpaid speculative work if I am going to be get more working tax credit. So do they give you more if you work over 30 hours or do they give you more if you work less than 30 hours

LOL - at least she's honest in her desire to work as little as possible and gain as much as possible!

As said in an earlier post, the difference in tax credits between working 16 and 30 hours is about 500. Surely, as an adult responsible for children, you realise that honesty is always the best way to go about reporting to HMRC and that working your tail off when you can is what gets you ahead in life?

You may look at speculative and admin work as 'unpaid'.......but um, how do you think you get your jobs to start with before word of mouth builds up, and if you cut back on your admin, then you will just fall further and further behind.......thought before typing is often a good thing!

xgirl

No but I spent the last few weekends doing unpaid speculative work for sodding marketing managers who wanted me (and about a dozen other people like me) to do free visuals for nothing to compete to get the work - and I didn't get it. SO if I get more working tax credit by refusing to do unpaid work then I will refuse to do unpaid work.

xgirl

And I've been successful and in business for 20 years and never been asked to do unpaid work before. I'd rather devote the time to growing vegetables to feed my children if I am going to get more working tax credit doing that than unpaid work. I'm 52 - I have never claimed a benefit in my life before. You really are a judgemental lot _ goodbye