Self Employment Queries.

Pantho

The situation is arising that I will be getting a self employed job seen.

This job is around £50 and £150 a week depending if it's a good week, or a bad week. E-Commerce self employment.

I've not even looked at any tax reasons, or how to register as a business/sole trader. I will have fun doing that later .

My queries are as to what benefits I can earn to help me start this venture. No startup costs for hardware are needed.

So far I have found this

Self employment credit

Tax free payment of £50 payable up to 16 weeks by JCP when you start work after a period of at least 13 weeks of recieving benefits because;
you are claiming JSA and are becoming self-employed.

How to claim Job Grant
You will automatically get Job Grant so long as you qualify.
You need to make sure you tell Jobcentre Plus that you're starting work and you must do this within 21 days of starting work.
You will be paid in the same way as you were paid benefits.

And then there seems to be a chance I can claim Housing Benefits if still needed?

I also need to know what type of proof I need to take to the job centre/authorities to show what my earnings are as a sole trader.

Have I missed anything?

dktreesea

You need to register first as self employed with HMRC.

Lou76

Pantho, I've saw mention on here that there are 1 day courses available, free of charge, through JC+ on becoming self employed; registering yourself, filling in tax returns, paying NI etc.

Might be worthwhile finding out if this is available to you?

I'm in a similar situation myself (on sickness benefit, looking to work from home) and this is something I'll certainly be chasing up. I haven't got the first clue about being self employed, don't know anyone I can ask about it, so a course like this would be ideal to me.

Ohh to be PAYE again when all I had to [STRIKE]moan[/STRIKE] worry about was how much tax/ NI was actually deducted before the money hit my bank.:rotfl:

If only I knew then...

podperson

Make sure you are clear on your tax and other aspects before you get started. As mentioned above the jobcentre will often run free courses on self employment, which can cover things like tax, NI, book keeping, etc. If not they will often have links with local Business Gateway groups, which is generally business people themselves who often help and support to people getting started.
Regarding benefits, if you're over 25 you can still claim working tax credits if you're self-employed and can claim Housing Benefit based on low income. If you're self employed though they generally ask for proof of your earnings on a regular basis so they can check you're receiving the correct amount.

Hammyman

Don't bother with the Jobcentre. Go to your local Business Link. Registering as S/E is a simple phone call.