Universal Credits - Self Employed

charlotte4940

shedboy94 wrote: »

Doesn't matter how long you have been claiming, and it may not just be a case of an o/p when they catch up with you and discover you have been fraudulently claiming.

I am not claiming fraudulently. A mistake has been made which has only come to light that we are trying to put right!

its good to know that it only applies to children of school age.

My partner is now in the process of trying to work for the business for at least 16 hours a week for NMW so he can produce an invoice and put the payment in the bank. Of course if this is possible we will have to notify HMRC that his hours have reduced.

BigAunty

Charlotte,

Read the HMRC info the Construction Industry Scheme as they perhaps have different rules to the ones we have cited on here around employment/self employment but will at least clarify your hubby's position.

They have a wizard here to help identify his status

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/calcs/esi.htm

John_Pierpoint

Or read it from his master's point of view:- Here are the HMRC instructions
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/new-cis/cis349.pdf

CIS mean Construction Industry Scheme.

This is how it should work:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3880151

shedboy94

charlotte4940 wrote: »

I am not claiming fraudulently. A mistake has been made which has only come to light that we are trying to put right!

its good to know that it only applies to children of school age.

My partner is now in the process of trying to work for the business for at least 16 hours a week for NMW so he can produce an invoice and put the payment in the bank. Of course if this is possible we will have to notify HMRC that his hours have reduced.

Actually you are. You have provided false information in order to claim benefits you are not entitled to. Your partner doesn't work 20hpw, in fact based upon his income he doesn't work anywhere near 16hpw, yet you are claiming childcare costs.

kaya64

coffeelover65 wrote: »

The reason for these rules in respect of the self employed is due to abuse of the system by so many people. I can't speak about how SE affects tax credits, but from a housing benefit / council tax benefit aspect there are certain people and dodgy accounting firms who routinely make a net profit of less than the personal tax allowance year after year. This is people who routinely work 30 hours a week (which just so happens to increase the amount of money you can claim via WTC), but yet earn the equivalent of a a few pounds per hour.

This is a good thing as it will end the abuse as why would anyone go through the hassle of SE if it pays less than the minimum wage. No honest person would routinely work hour after hour and come out with less than the minimum wage if they didn't have the taxpayer topping up their income.

Actually being in self employment even when it pays £60 a week and claiming tax credits along with a bit of council tax benefit is more income than being on the dole,

kaya64

Blue22 wrote: »

Why as different as apples and pears? Both are calculated by something called 'income'. A PAYE worker has the same annual income that is used to calculate both welfare and income tax. So why shouldn't someone who is self employed?

As someone who ran a business for over two decades (a proper working business that employed others, not a hobby business) I can understand the unfairness of the guidelines.

I always played by the rules when SE. I paid my taxes on time, only claimed for genuine expenses and collected large sums in VAT for HMRC.

If I were still in that position and had dependent children, I would feel so resentful that I would do things differently. I would not be prepared to pay my taxes so PAYE workers on higher annual incomes could receive UC that I and my family were not entitled to.

The guidelines are implying that all the self employed are fiddling the system, so to be perfectly honest, that's what I would feel justified in doing.

that made me laugh so much
:rotfl:

pentiumofborg

Is there current information regarding the following: Is a "minimum floor" going to be set for the self-employed on low income and currently receiving Tax Credits? How is this going to be implemented specifically?

princessdon

pentiumofborg wrote: »

Is there current information regarding the following: Is a "minimum floor" going to be set for the self-employed on low income and currently receiving Tax Credits? How is this going to be implemented specifically?

NMW @ 35 hrs pw for single, families depends on children's ages.

There was talk of setting it at average working wage for that field, eg a carpenter but that doesn't appear to be the case.

pentiumofborg

Thanks. Isn't it minimum wage for the number of hours they work per week? What's going to stop self employed people currently receiving Working Tax Credits reporting their hours as the minimum of 18 hours a week?

princessdon

pentiumofborg wrote: »

Thanks. Isn't it minimum wage for the number of hours they work per week? What's going to stop self employed people currently receiving Working Tax Credits reporting their hours as the minimum of 18 hours a week?

The minimum (without conditionality) will be 35 more if a couple and partner is eligible.