help - seperation

snow_queen

Hi there

As you know now, I do pet sitting and claim WTC and CTC - Does the 16 hours a week I MUST do include travel to and from the jobs?

Thanks

Ted_Hutchinson

Hi there

As you know now, I do pet sitting and claim WTC and CTC - Does the 16 hours a week I MUST do include travel to and from the jobs?

It will depend on how your charges are worked out.

You claim for the number of hours for which you are paid.

So you need to include in your charging details an element to cover the time spent travelling so you minimum fee might include 1hr contact time with pet plus 1/4 hr travelling time for £6.00 with further time with that pet at £4.80an hour.

Tax credits can only count the hours you work so if travelling is an essential part of your work you must try to include it in the cost structure so your clients and the tax man can see it's part of the costs the clients are paying.

If you don't charge for travelling on an time spent basis then you won't be able to include it as part of your hours spent working.

snow_queen

thanks Ted! Im very worried Ill owe money back incase I dont do enough work - i work for a lady but im still self employed - Its £7.50 per job ie per walk or home visit - i get paid about £350 - 400 per month. How will they know how many hours ive done? its not that I wanna fiddle it, but I just wanna know! At the moment my actual work is this:
i walk 1 dog for 2 hours a day and get paid £9.50 per day
1 walk another dog twice on momdays and once on wednesdays and get paid £7.50 per WALK
I do another dog twice on mondays and twice on fridays at £7.50 per WALK

These are my regulars then I get others every so often when people are on holiday etc so ill feed their cats or whatever

The job where I do the dog every day for 2 hours a day might be going down to 1 hour a day

So what I need to know is:
1. Am I ok at the moment
2. will i be ok if the 2 hr dog goes down to 1 hour?

Thanks in advance

snow_queen

and I spend 4-5 hours travelling per week to the various jobs and back again etc

and I leaflet drop once a week for a couple of hours and do paperwork

Fran

Hi snow_queen,

I think Ted has explained clearly about how to do your charges and it seems that it is up to you to include time spent travelling and doing paperwork in your charges. The dog owners shouldn't mind how it's worked out as they are only interested in how much they have to pay.

When they decide Working Tax Credit the amount is set until the end of the Tax year. It is up to you to inform them of change in circumstances and to be aware if you can't keep your hours at 16 or above that you would not be entitled. If you are not sure, why not give WTC a ring and ask them?

snow_queen

hello!
Thank you all for your kind help!
Ive finally got my WTC and CTC - Can anyone tell me what else im entitled and where to claim? would I get help with my mortgage payments?

Thanks