Confused and need help

helpmydsa

I am a self employed photographer and started up in jan 2012. Business has been very hit and miss but managed to secure a working relationship with a company who will pass work on to me. For the last 3 months i have been working( advertising and trying to get my business out there) but no paid work now i have managed to cut down my outgoings so i can survive on what my family bring in( benefits, working tax etc)

My question?

Since i have had no paid work do i have to inform the tax office and will i get in trouble with working familes tax credits?

I am putting hours in but not getting any work but as i survive on the money i get in am i still able to keep trying to trade or do i have to fold in?

Thanks

Mistral001

helpmydsa wrote: »

I am a self employed photographer and started up in jan 2012. Business has been very hit and miss but managed to secure a working relationship with a company who will pass work on to me. For the last 3 months i have been working( advertising and trying to get my business out there) but no paid work now i have managed to cut down my outgoings so i can survive on what my family bring in( benefits, working tax etc)

My question?

Since i have had no paid work do i have to inform the tax office and will i get in trouble with working familes tax credits?

I am putting hours in but not getting any work but as i survive on the money i get in am i still able to keep trying to trade or do i have to fold in?

Thanks

Maybe this is a question for the benefits forum. It happens sometimes in self-empployment that you work without getting paid for it. I think you need to be working 30 hours a week to get working tax credits, so perhaps you need to make sure that you are putting those hours into your business even though it is not making much money at the minute.

Wywth

If you've not secured any paid work for the last 3 months, it sounds like you are un-employed rather than self-employed.

Maybe look for a job that does actually pay you, and progress photography in your spare time as a hobby until you actually get an order that will pay you.

You need to investigate why the business that was passing work to you has stopped doing so for the last 3 months. Is it because they have no custom either, or are they passing it to someone else now (and if so why)?

Being busy is not the secret to success in business; being gainfully busy is