Benefits When Self Employed?

Dimples2609

I have been running my own Ltd company since autumn 2007. Initially sucessfully but over the last year my previous income stream dried up & I've been building up a new income stream which is just beginning to grow. However I haven't drawn any money from my company for a year and have put some of my reserves into getting it going again. Now my reserves are running out. Can I claim benefits while still running my company until it is able to start paying me?

stazi

Just to correct something-if you are a director of a LTD company- you are not self employed- you are employed - by the company.

Benefits_Bod

Whether self-employed or employed (I agree with stazi's observation), Tax Credits and HB/CTB are potentially payable - depending on your household and overall financial circumstances.

If you are employed, you should be aware that if you are taking less money out of the business as earnings than the council considers reasonable, the council *could* deem your earnings to be higher for HB/CTB purposes. There *may* be a similar provision for Tax Credits, but I don't know this as a fact.

However, there is nothing to lose by applying (apart from the time aspect). Even if the claim forms don't appear to quite cover the employment situation in your case, I would strongly advise pro-actively disclosing all information about your involvement / status with your company.

To claim Tax Credits, contact HMRC. To claim HB/CTB, contact your local council. Rule of thumb for all benefits is to claim asap - you may lose out otherwise.