Universal credit and self employment?

Sunshine78

Hi,

I'll try to keep this brief...
We are receiving UC, my partner is long term sick and I am his carer.
I am considering making some items that I can make at home, online, when I can. I have not done this yet.
What do I do next? Do I notify UC of my intention to do this?
I am not expecting to make a fortune obviously, just some extra cash and something to keep my brain amused really.
I don't want to do this behind anyones back or claim anything we are not entitled to. At the same time am scared to approach UC incase they stop any money we are currently getting as I have not even made anything to sell yet lol.
All advice greatly appreciated

:j

huckster

I think you would have to try to sell what you made first of all, to see whether it might be a business.

Why not give it a try as a hobby, but keep full records of what you are spending on materials, time it takes to make items, petrol costs etc. And very important if you sell items, keep a record of ALL sales. IF you sell more than a few items and make a profit overall, then that is when you should advise UC of self employment, as you have tried to see whether a hobby can be a business and have made a small profit.

As a carer you will be in no work related requirements anyway, but when you report self employment, you will need to attend Job Centre for a Gateway appointment, just to run through details of self employment. You won't be found gainfully self employed unless you are earning a living from what you are doing. But you would be required to report your income and expenses every month, even if you have NIL income/expenses in a month, as you are not doing anything in a particular month.

annandale

You need to let UC know as soon as you start self employment. Even if you operate at a loss for the first few months. You would also need to register with HMRC. I’m self employed and employed and I’m not gainfully self employed and I had to let the dwp know as soon as I started self employment

How that works out with being a carer I don’t know but hopefully someone on the boards will.

Spoonie_Turtle

annandale wrote: »

You need to let UC know as soon as you start self employment. Even if you operate at a loss for the first few months. You would also need to register with HMRC. I’m self employed and employed and I’m not gainfully self employed and I had to let the dwp know as soon as I started self employment

How that works out with being a carer I don’t know but hopefully someone on the boards will.

You only need to register with HMRC if you earn more than £1000 in a tax year from self-employment, just FYI.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income#trade

NedS

annandale wrote: »

How that works out with being a carer I don’t know but hopefully someone on the boards will.

You can not be found gainfully self employed on UC if you are also a carer as work related requirements do not apply.

Sunshine78

NedS wrote: »

You can not be found gainfully self employed on UC if you are also a carer as work related requirements do not apply.

Thank you, this is going to seem a silly question I think, but what does that mean exactly?
I think I am overthinking and making the whole thing complicated to myself, apologies if it is a silly question!
Thank you

calcotti

Sunshine78 wrote: »

Thank you, this is going to seem a silly question I think, but what does that mean exactly?
I think I am overthinking and making the whole thing complicated to myself, apologies if it is a silly question!
Thank you

On UC if you are gainfully self employed (meaning self employment is your main employment) then you can be treated as earning a certain amount even if you are earning less. However this is not relevant to you because you area carer and in any case what are proposing doesn't sound like something that could be construed as gainful self employment anyway.

(It’s not a silly question.)