As a guide, the following are examples of some of the expenses we can allow:

Transcription

1 How do I know if I m self-employed? A person is self-employed if they are gainfully employed but are not under a contract of service with an employer. You may be a sole trader or in a business partnership. The following are not counted as self-employment Fostering and respite care payments Sports Council awards Rent received by a claimant on their home Rent received by a claimant on property other than their home, unless the renting of property is gainful employment, possibly because of the number of properties rented out What do I need to do if I am self-employed and want to claim for help with my rent and/or Council Tax? First you must make a claim Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support. In addition to any other income, savings, identity and National Insurance proof you have, you will also need to provide proof of your self-employed income. If you have been self-employed for some time you will have trading accounts and we will need to see your last year s accounts showing both income and expenditure. We may ask you to supply proof of some of the amounts entered on your accounts. If you have not been trading for a year, then you must supply details for the period you have traded by completing a Self Employed Earnings Certificate. If you are claiming due to a recent dip in your self-employed income, or if the nature of your business has changed, then your income and expenditure will need to be supplied for the period agreed between us. How do you work out my self-employed income? Once you have made a claim, we need to work out your income. In addition to any other income you have we will also calculate an amount from your self-employment. To do this we look at the money you have coming into the business ( income ) compared to any expenses incurred wholly and exclusively in the running of the business ( expenditure ) You may have expenditure in your accounts which is not allowable for benefit purposes. We only allow expenditure that is as a direct result and is only incurred because of the business. As a guide, the following are examples of some of the expenses we can allow: Protective clothing Vehicle costs Advertising Buying in stock and supplies Stationery Telephone Staff costs Insurance Write off for proven bad debts The following we cannot allow: Capital repayments on business loans Capital expenditure Depreciation Business entertainment Once we have deducted your expenditure from your income, we can then work out the amounts of tax and National Insurance we think you should pay. These will be deducted along with 50% of any actual private pension payments you make, to get a net figure which we use in working out your entitlement. What happens if I have more than one business? We will work out your net income from each business in the same way. Any losses from one business cannot be offset against the other. My partner works in the business and I pay them a wage. How is this treated? These wages will be considered an allowable expense in your expenditure, and will be taken into account as your partner s earnings. I make drawings from my business. How do these affect my claim? You may make drawings from your business as a wage for yourself. These will be shown in your accounts under expenditure, but will not be considered as an allowable expense. What if I disagree with the income you have used? You need to speak with us. It could be that the amounts we have used do not represent the income you now have. If you still disagree with the income used you have the right to ask us to look at this again

2 (known as a revision) If you disagree with the outcome of the revision you have the right to appeal. Visit our website or contact us for more information. For more information Visit our website: Call us on us at benefitsservice@wakefield.gov.uk Or call in to Wakefield One Customer Access Point to see an advisor For independent advice, contact your local Wakefield District Citizen s Advice bureau on , or visit the Citizen s Advice website at

3 Self Employed Earnings Declaration Section 1 Full name About you Address Post code Tel no Section 2 Business name About your business Address Post code Tel no Type of business VAT registration number (if applicable) Average hours worked per week What date did your business start? Start date of current financial year Is your business a partnership? Yes No If so, what percentage of the total profit/loss is yours? Is your husband/wife a partner in the business? Yes No If so, what percentage of the total profit/loss is theirs? Is your husband/wife on the payroll of the business? Yes No If yes, what are their earnings? Are there any other people on the payroll of the business? Yes No Do you use part of your own home for business purposes? Yes No If yes, please give details Section 3 About the business income Do you have any prepared accounts (audited or otherwise) for the last financial year? Yes No If yes, are they a reflection of your current income? Yes No Please send the original accounts with this form. Go to Section 5 If no, please state the reason why and the date you expect to have them If you do not have any prepared accounts or if you have not been trading for a full year, please complete Section 4

4 Section 4 Income and Expenditure State the exact period this covers From To Sales/Takings/Income + VAT refunded + Business Start Up + closing stock - cost of sales (purchases) - VAT paid out - opening stock Gross profit Expenses You must only include amounts that relate solely to the business e.g. telephone if calls are made, you must apportion the total cost in accordance with the amount of private use and enter the amount for business use only. Business only Rent (business premises or proportion of your home rent attributed to business) Business Rates Heating and lighting Cleaning Telephone Business insurance Bank charges* Total *If you have a separate bank account for business please enclose statements for the whole period Motoring expenses (business related) Petrol/Diesel Car lease Insurance Road tax Repairs Total Who owns the vehicles? Self Business If business, does this include personal use? Yes No If yes, what percentage is for personal use? Other Expenses Drawings (cash or stock) Wages paid to self Wages paid to spouse Wages paid to others Advertising Printing and stationery Accountants charges Postage Other (please specify) Total Please state what is covered by insurance

5 Interest payments on any business loans Please enclose a copy of the loan arrangement Repairs of business assets Do not include motoring. If a loan has been taken out for this purpose please enclose the loan documents Was this expense covered by insurance? Yes No Replacement of business assets If a loan has been taken out for this purpose please enclose the loan documents Was this expense covered by insurance? Yes No Leasing charges Please state what is leased Please give details of any bad debts (proven i.e. where default has occurred) You may be asked to provide proof of any expense items listed if so we will write to you. Is it reasonable to assume that the trading figures for the next 3 6 months will be similar to those quoted? Yes No If No, please explain any difference Section 5 Private Hire & Hackney Carriage Drivers Please complete this section if you are a Private Hire or Hackney Carriage Driver Are you a Private Hire driver? Hackney Carriage driver? Both? Licensing expenses Do you own more than one vehicle? Yes No If Yes, do you receive any income from them and if so how much per week? Vehicle type Reg. no. Plate no. Operator office Weekly base rent Fuel type Cost per litre/gallon (delete as appropriate) Miles per litre/gallon Fee for 1 st mile Fee for subsequent miles Average trip length Hours worked per week Actual working hours (e.g. 9am 5pm) Days worked e.g. Monday to Friday Last recorded mileage Mileage record prior to last Proof will be required of mileage, such as the vehicle MOT certificates. If the vehicle is under 3 years old or purchased in the last 12 months and an MOT certificate is not available, please include the vehicle log book (VQ5) or any other document that can prove mileage undertaken. Dead mileage percentage Are tips included in the fares received shown on the accounts? Yes No How much do you receive in tips?

6 Do motoring expenses declared include domestic usage? Yes No If Yes, please state percentage Section 6 Other outgoings National Insurance contributions Do you hold an exemption certificate? Yes No Income Tax paid Please include your latest tax assessment letter. If this is not available, please state why Personal Pension Contributions Do you contribute to a personal pension? Yes No If yes, please state the amount paid and provide proof of the payments and membership scheme What is the frequency of the contribution payment? (e.g. weekly/monthly) Section 7 Additional Information Wages paid to others Please give details of their name, address and amount of wages paid: Name of employee Address Amount paid Any other information you wish to give: Section 8 Declaration Please read this declaration carefully before you sign and date it. I understand the following: If I give information that is incorrect or incomplete, you may take action against me You will use the information I have provided to process my claim for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, or both. You may check some of the information with other sources within the Council, Rent Office and other Councils. You may use any information I have provided in connection with this and any other claim for Social Security benefits that I have made or may make. You may give some information to other Government organisations, if the law allows this. I know I must let the Council know about any changes in my circumstances which may affect my claim. I declare the information I have given on this form is correct and complete Signature of person claiming: Print name: Date: