ESA and self employed

Newtopip

Would it be possible to claim ESA - work related activity group and be self employed. I want to sell stuff onine with a business account as i cant work due to my depression and anxiety and amputation.

Also can i claim working tax credit.

Would appricate any help

Thank you

epitome

You can claim ESA whilst self employed as long as you do not work 16 hours or more in a week.... You can expect your application for ESA to be long-winded as they will want all sorts of evidence, which they will not say exactly what they want until you phone them and ask for a call back to discuss with the processors.

I don't know about WTC, but I think usually WTC is for people working 30 hours or more a week...so that means you cannot have WTC and ESA at the same time as a self employed person.

However, WTC has exceptions for disabled people, I don't know but I think the rule is 16 hours or more so again that means you cannot have WTC and ESA as self employed person.

You should ask WTC what the rules are.

ESA Conts is unaffected by WTC (for those who can get it whilst on ESA)
ESA IR is affected 100% by WTC, so a person on ESA IR would be at no advantage financially for having WTC.

pmlindyloo

Newtopip wrote: »

Would it be possible to claim ESA - work related activity group and be self employed. I want to sell stuff onine with a business account as i cant work due to my depression and anxiety and amputation.

Also can i claim working tax credit.

Would appricate any help

Thank you

You have the following options:

1. Do Permitted Work whilst on ESA ( I will find a link to explain the criteria). If you get permission to do Permitted Work then your current benefits will remain the same. Your earnings will not affect them.
Or
2. Work 16+ hrs a week and claim working tax credits. From reading previous posts it looks like you would be eligible for the disability element with working tax credits.

https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/qualifying-benefit-test

Which would be financially better for you depends on your personal circumstances e.g. partner (working? dependent children? claiming HB/CTR?)

You can look at a benefits calculator like https://www.entitledto.co.uk to find out what you would get if you choose the working tax credits or go to CAB for a Quick Benefit check.

Often starting as self employed can mean that your earnings may be small to begin with so you may want to choose option 1 until your self employment gives you a steady income.

Permitted Work

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/work-people-living-disability-or-health-conditions