Artists/writers & Tax Credits?

doodoot

Hi guys, I'm hoping that someone here more knowledgeable (or better with google than myself) can answer a question that came up in conversation last night.

Can an artist or writer/author who has self-employed status claim working and child tax credits even if they aren't being paid for the work they are currently working on?

For example, if an artist starts a painting which he/she hopes to sell at some point in the future, or an author starts writing a book that he/she hopes a publishing house will accept?

I've always thought that someone needs to be in remunerative employment and getting paid for work in order to claim TC's.

It just seems wrong to me that someone could spend years working on art without actually selling anything, yet claim TC's, CB and HB - my friend said that so long as they expect to sell something, they are eligible to claim benefits.

TIA.

heretolearn_2

Interesting question.

I suspect you could try, but you wouldn't get away with it for long. You'd have to reclaim your tax credits each year, declaring your previous year's income, and if that is zero, they are going to be asking are you actually employed?

Likewise the HMRC won't keep accepting a self employed person runs at a loss every year.

So I imagine you might be able to pull it off for a year or so, if you were really smart about it...