Universal credit and side hustle

penny387

Hi, I’m finding it difficult to find the answers so hoping someone can help here ! 

My husband and I ( with 3 kids) both work but receive UC to top up our income. I have a hobby/ passion which I would like to turn into a side hustle and if it works out well one day a full on income - growing and selling flowers. As with most businesses I don’t expect to make much of a profit in the beginning - if any. There will be expenses to get me started - compost, seeds, growing infrastructure etc. I’ll have all these expenses way before I am able to sell any flowers and wonder how it would work when it looks like I’m making money but actually that money is to pay back all my expenses before I start making a profit. Would I need to tell UC before I spend any money on this venture so it can all be accounted for ? Or if I keep details of all my expenses can I use this to work out my actual profit and if I am to be deducted any UC. 

Also, when I do start selling would it be possible to accumulate this income to use it later in the season to pay for seeds, bulbs etc come autumn ? It’s not straight forward as there will be times of the year when I won’t be making any money but will have lots of expenses. Then other times I’ll be getting an income but have little expenses to deduct. From what I can work out they do it month to month but there must be lots of other self employed that are in a similar situation. 

Might be worth noting we will still have our employed income so would not need to worry about reaching minimum income floor or anything like that. 

Any advice would be much appreciated. 

Silvertabby

I'll leave your UC questions for those better qualified than I to answer.

But, in the case of your flower growing business, have you fully researched your future market?  My late sister was a florist and, even back then, most of the flowers she and other florists bought were imported from huge specialist companies abroad.  I sometimes went with her to the early morning flower trade market and the choice was amazing - many came from Holland, but there were also carnations from Colombia and long stemmed roses from Kenya etc.  

Or do you intend setting up your own shop or market stall?  If so, then be aware that the buying public - like the British weather - can be fickle.  And if they choose not to buy the flowers that you carefully nurtured from seed stage, then you'll be left with just compost instead of profit.  Not trying to put you off - just being realistic.

Yamor

You would have to be down as being self-employed if you want the expenses to count.

To explain that: in general, only expenses incurred in that month count. However, you can bring forward a loss from previous months, which comes to the same thing. But in order for you to make a loss, you have to be down as being self-employed in that month.

Whether they will accept that you are already trading from when you start incurring expenses is very fact-dependent...

Regarding accumulating income to spend later, of course you can do that, but UC will still take into account your full profit that month. The loss that you make in the later month when you spend the money will carry forward to a later month when you make a profit.

TimeLord1

If you visit a job center, advisors will be telling you to go self-employed; that triggers a change of circumstances and suspends UC payments until they work out your claim. Personally you'd be better off visiting Citizens Advice and registering to do a self-assessment if it starts to make a profit.  Or you exceed capital savings limits.