New Enterprise Allowance scheme - My story

Greenshepherd

So guys, thanks for your help.
Well, you mean, I am not eligible for Income support. I see, though it is a bit strange beacause according to the information on the GOV.website you can claim Income support if you earn not enough, which should mean that you are allowed to work - BUT according to your explanation you can't claim Income support because I am working. Ok.

Now back to the WTC. Who is so kind to explain to me how to claim WTC and what am I suppose to observe in order to succeed with the application?

Somebody who is on NEA and succeeded with the claim of WTC, who could hel me?
I would be glad.
Thank you and many good wishes for your business
:beer:

TrueBlue1965

Hi greenshepherd, go to this site and follow the various links to get all the information you need to claim Working Tax Credits. https://www.gov.uk/working-tax-credit/overview

Remember that everything you do which is connected with work is work even if your not being paid. Your working to get paid work. Keep a log of everything you do as proof that your doing those hours of work. In the early stages of a new business. Most people do many hours work per week for not much pay/profit. As a new business. People often have to make a guess at what they are likely to earn in the first few months of trading as they have earnt nothing. My claim stated that I was likely to earn less than £1,000 in the first 3 months of trading. As you are earning around £40 per week from your business at the moment. You should have proof of your earnings. So, thats what WTC will want to know and potentially want to see in your trading books.

dktreesea

Greenshepherd wrote: »

So guys, thanks for your help.
Well, you mean, I am not eligible for Income support. I see, though it is a bit strange beacause according to the information on the GOV.website you can claim Income support if you earn not enough, which should mean that you are allowed to work - BUT according to your explanation you can't claim Income support because I am working. Ok.

Now back to the WTC. Who is so kind to explain to me how to claim WTC and what am I suppose to observe in order to succeed with the application?

Somebody who is on NEA and succeeded with the claim of WTC, who could hel me?
I would be glad.
Thank you and many good wishes for your business
:beer:

WTC is based on your income for the previous year. If you think this year will be materially different you can state this on your claim.

If you go onto this site:
http://taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/Qualify/EntitlementResults.aspx
you can work out if you would be entitled to WTC.

For single people, you have to be working at your business for at least 30 hours a week to qualify for WTC.

To actually apply, ring 0345 300 3900 (the tax credits help line) and ask for a claim pack.

The date you put that your business started should be the date you registered your business with HMRC.

It's all form based. They don't ask you personalised questions about your business. The main thing is not to under estimate your income, if you think you will earn a lot more in the current year than you did in the previous year. It doesn't have to be exact. The leeway has varied over the years. You could ask the tax credits help line. They should be able to tell you what the leeway is, i.e. how much your actual profit can be over the estimate before you have to pay back any overpayments.

Greenshepherd

Thank you very much for your useful answers!
I read the information on the government websites and I will claim now.

I am a bit confused about the condition "you get paid for the work you do" which is necessary to qualify for WTC. At the moment I am busy with advertising for my business, creating a website, setting up business contacts etc., for which I obviously not get paid. TrueBlue wrote "You are working to get paid work." So will they accept my claim if I just write down all these activities in a log?


Sorry for my asking again, I just want to be sure to make no mistakes as I have had bad experiences with the jobcenter. For example my first application for the NEA was rejected without any reason, then I got a new advisor who accepted it immediately.

So if any of you has any tips on how an application for WTC should be done, I would be very glad and thankful to hear them.
Thanks again for your help!

TrueBlue1965

Your working on your business now with the expectation that you will get paid in the future from profits in your business. While unpaid work at the moment. You are working to get paid in the future! When your business starts making a profit you will in effect then be getting paid for all the work you have done in that financial year. That includes advertising for your business, creating a website, setting up business contacts etc. You simply dont know how much you are going to be paid or when because you have just started a new business!

A simple log of everything you do which is connected with your business can be useful in showing that you are working the hours you state on the Tax Credits form. Your not likely to be asked for proof of the hours that your working on your business. However, it could be useful if your worried that you might be asked to prove the hours that you work on your business.

In my case. I was already claiming Child Tax Credits before I started my business. So, it was a simple change of circumstances completed in 5 minutes over the phone. 5 months later and im still getting Working Tax Credits/Child Tax Credits and I know what I will be getting in this new financial year. I,ve not been asked to prove hours worked or earning. Everything is likely to stay the same until after i,ve completed my Income Tax for the next financial year. At that point. My Working Tax Credits could change depending on my earnings and the potential changes in my finacial circumstances.

Andy2013

I am a bit confused about the condition "you get paid for the work you do" which is necessary to qualify for WTC. At the moment I am busy with advertising for my business, creating a website, setting up business contacts etc., for which I obviously not get paid. TrueBlue wrote "You are working to get paid work." So will they accept my claim if I just write down all these activities in a log?

Greenshepherd to obtain WTC you need to "work" a set number of hours to get different elements of the benefit and "work" is anything related to your business so not just paid work currently but book keeping, advertising , paperwork etc so anyone setting up a business would almost certainly be working 25+ hours a week and most should hit 40 hours if its going to be a success.

WTC don't ask for proof , they just trust your honesty as they have over 5 million claims a year but do be very careful and truthful when entering info into the form as any error might not be picked up until after they have paid you a lot of money and this may end up being repaid if the error was yours, just a warning.

Greenshepherd

Thank you very much, TrueBlue and Andy, for your helpful tips!

Greenshepherd

Hello, sorry for asking again, but I am experiencing problems with my housing benefits claim. As I am in the beginning phase of my NEA, they had granted my claim for a few weeks only and then told me to come again and bring new evidence of my business. So I went there again, brought my bank statements, invoices, personal statement etc. Time passed, no reply, claim suspended. Called there, made another appointment, went there again......still they have not assessed my claim. Moreover every advisor gives me different information.

So I wanted to ask those who also started their business with the NEA scheme about their experiences with housing benefit. The advisors told me that without the NEA my income would be to low. Well, in my business it takes some time to set up contracts with the customers, so at the moment I am not earning much yet. In addition, my income is fluctuating, I am still at the beginning of my business so it is hard to foresee. That is why I am not sure what to put in the form.

Does any of you know what minimun income you need to have for your housing benefit claim? What income did you state in the beginning phase of your business?

Thank you very much for your help.

s450

Guys, I have been experiencing a problem similar to that of @Greenshepherd

My HB claim has been closed because two months ago I wasn't earning anything yet. You know how difficult it is to start up your own business!! I am working very hard, advertising, making contacts, etc..

My circmustances have slightly changed. I have two customers, but still I am earning around 160 per month.

The Benefits Centers told me that according to the government you have to earn a minimum to be eligibel for HB. They did not seem to be competent, to know what they were speaking about.
So, what is meant with this minimum? How much must it be?

According to what you said here in this long thread, I do not need to mention that I am receiven NEA also because it is not a taxable income, right?
So, I did not mention it two months ago.
But now, because they said, I am earning to little, I said, I am receiving NEA. AS soon as I mentioned it, they said, that this is going to change the situation.

So, now I am anyhow supposed to resubmit my Self-Employed Earnings Information form. On the second PAge I am even aked if I get ENTERPRISE ALLOWANCE.
So what should I do? Should I mention it.
And if yes, what does it mean for the HB. Does it mean that I will get less HB because of the NEA? (Actually, according to what many of you said, the NEA is not taxable)
OR is it just necessary for the Benefis Center to know that I am earning THOSE MINUMUN required by the government in order to be eligible for HB?

Please help!

Many thanks in advance and I truly hope your business is working well and that soon also mine will bring me lots of profit :j

dktreesea

The NEA won't affect your housing benefit, i.e. it is ignored for the purpose of assessing the amount you get.

The housing benefits decision maker has to be convinced that you are genuinely running a business. So if you have little or no revenue during the first few months, then you might not get housing benefit. You can always appeal, but their starting position would be that the claimant presented little or no evidence that they are actually running a business. Setting up your business doesn't always count. You actually have to be trading, so they have to be able to see the revenue couming through your bank account.

There is no minimum profit. You could be trading at a loss. But they do have to be able to see the revenue, i.e. that you have actually traded during the period in question.

Once you have some revenue, you need to go back to them to re-open your claim, based on the current revenue and associated profit being at least maintained going forwards. Though, in the early stages, you should factor in some growth.

I had been under the impression though, with NEA, that you had a year before things like housing benefit were affected? is this not right?