Office use only: HB/CTR ref: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction: Self-employed Earnings Form Revenues, Benefits & Customer Services, PO Box 1354, 22-26 Clements Road, Ilford, Essex IG1 1LF PLEASE NOTE: if you are a director, please DO NOT complete this form see Guidance Note 5. What should I provide if I am a company director? IMPORTANT - please read the enclosed Guidance Notes before you complete the form. We need more information to work out your weekly earnings from your business. Please fill in and return this form to tell us about your self-employment. If you are involved in more than one self-employed business, please fill in one of these forms for each business. Please return this form and your proof to the address shown above as soon as possible or you may lose benefit/reduction. 1. About you Title Surname Other names What is your home address? Telephone No Email Postcode 2. About your business What is the name and address of your business? Postcode What type of business is it? Name of professional body you are registered with (we may ask to see proof of this) When did you start your business? (dd/mm/yy) What is the start date of your current financial year? (dd/mm/yy) What is the average number of hours you work each week? What is your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) registration number? Note: you must register your self-employment with HMRC otherwise you may have to pay a penalty. For further information please contact HMRC direct. 1
If you are in a business partnership, how many partners are there? What are their names and addresses? What percentage of the profit is yours? Note: you must provide your partnership agreement Do you pay into a private pension scheme? (Please answer Yes or No) If Yes, how much and how often? every Do you have certified accounts? (Please answer Yes or No) If Yes: Sign the Declaration at the end of the form and return it with a copy of your latest profit and loss accounts. If you have an accountant, please give their name, address and telephone number: If No, use the rest of this form: 1. If you have just started working for yourself to provide an ESTIMATE of your income and outgoings for at least the first 3 months of trading. After 3 months we will ask you to provide actual accounts for this period. 2. If you have been self-employed for more than 3 months to give details of your ACTUAL business income and outgoings for a period of trading. This must either be your most recent year of trading, or, if you have not been trading for a year, from the date your business started to the current date. Please ensure the figures you give are only for the period you enter below, and for the business as a whole, even if you have partners. 3. Statement of account tick one box below to show if you are providing ESTIMATED or ACTUAL trading accounts ESTIMATED accounts for the period from (must be a minimum of 3 months) to ACTUAL accounts for the period from to (You must provide original proof of your business income and expenses for the most recent 3 months trading) A. Business income please write none where the income does not apply to you. Sales, takings and receipts from business activities only Commission, interest and any VAT refunded Business loans and incentives, for example New Deal Tips and gratuities Other income (please specify) Other income (please specify) Other income (please specify) 2
B. Business expenses Important: Note for taxi/minicab drivers in addition to entering your expenses below, please also answer the questions at the top of page 4 Type of expense Total spent Amount for nonbusiness use Money paid to yourself (sometimes called drawings ) Wages paid to your spouse or partner Wages paid to others Stock purchased Rent of business premises Mortgage interest on business premises Business rates Water rates Cleaning and maintenance of business premises Heating and lighting Business insurance (excluding vehicle insurance) Bank charges business accounts only Interest payments on business loan Proven bad debts Debt recovery costs Depreciation Accountancy charges Legal fees VAT paid out New equipment to improve or expand your business Repair replacement & maintenance of assets (not covered by insurance) Hire or leasing costs (excluding vehicle hire/lease) Advertising Telephone landline Telephone mobile Postage and packing costs Delivery costs Printing and stationery Subscription fees/costs of membership of professional body Business entertainment Special clothing DBS check (previously CRB) Circuit/licence fees Vehicle lease Road tax Petrol/diesel Vehicle insurance Vehicle maintenance/repairs Vehicle MOT Business travel (not between home and office) Other expenses (please list below): 3
3B/. Continued Additional questions for self-employed Taxi/Minicab drivers ONLY Please give the name, address and telephone number of the minicab operator you work for: What is the make and model of your car? What is your car s registration number? What was the recorded mileage at the start and end of the period? What is your estimated average trip length? What is your estimated dead mileage percentage? (This means miles travelling from drop-off to next pick-up) What is your average fare received per trip? Base rent and commission Cost of PCO licence Cost of PHV licence Cost of Knowledge Test Other costs (specify) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Changes in trading If you think your current trading figures vary considerably from the accounts you have provided, or you believe your income for the next 6 months will be substantially different, please tell us why: 5. Declaration I understand the calculation of my business income will be based on my latest accounts or the statement of account provided on this form I understand I must provide my latest accounts as soon as they are available to me. If I do not have accounts prepared by an accountant I must provide an annual statement of account. I know I must let Redbridge s Revenues, Benefits and Customer Services Section know about any changes in my circumstances that might affect my claim. The information given on this form is correct and complete. I authorise the Council to make any necessary enquiries to check the information on this form. Signed: Date: Please return this form and all evidence to: Revenues, Benefits & Customer Services PO Box 1354, 22-26 Clements Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1LF. For more information go to www.redbridge.gov.uk or telephone 020 8708 5690 or visit the Benefits Reception Office: Ground Floor, Olympic House, 28-42 Clements Road, Ilford, IG1 1BA. 4
V2.0 Oct 15 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction: Guidance notes for people who are self-employed PLEASE READ THESE NOTES BEFORE YOU COMPLETE THE SELF-EMPLOYED EARNINGS FORM 1. Who is treated as self-employed? Someone who works for an income but is not employed under a contract and does not work for a wage or salary. You may be a sole trader or in a partnership. If you are a director of a company, please do not complete this form - see Section 5 of this guidance. 2. What details of self-employed earnings should I provide? If you have just started trading you must supply a realistic prediction of your expected income for the first 3 months of trading. After 3 months we will ask for your actual income and expenses for this period. If you have been trading for 3 12 months you must provide details of your actual business income and expenses from the date you started trading to the present date. If you have been trading for more than 12 months you must provide details of your actual business income and expenses for the previous 12 months. As proof of self-employed earnings we will accept: 1. Your most recent certified profit and loss accounts. If your accounts are certified we probably won t need to see receipts and invoices. When you receive your yearly accounts, please remember to send them to us, so that we can update your claim; OR 2. Your most recent trading accounts - we may need to see the receipts and invoices for the most recent 3 months trading (see 3 below); OR 3. A completed Redbridge Self-employed Earnings Form we may need to see the receipts and invoices for the most recent 3 months (see 3 below). We will only accept this form if you have been trading for less than 1 year, after which time we will expect you to provide 1 or 2 above. Tax Return: We cannot use your tax return to calculate your income because some expenses taken into account for tax purposes by the HMRC are not allowed for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction purposes. Drawings: If you take drawings from your business as a kind of wage or salary for yourself we cannot use this amount as your income, we must base our assessment on your net profit. 3. How should I organise the evidence? We will contact you and make it clear what evidence we need to see and the date you need to provide it by. Any proof must be in a relevant order, for example: date/invoice number/type of expense - you will need to put them in an order that makes it easy for us to cross-check against the trading accounts you provide. Receipts for each type of business expense should be kept together and clearly labelled. Child minders: We only need to see proof of your income and not your expenses. Your self-employed earnings will then be worked out using one-third of your gross income, less notional Tax and National Insurance contributions.
Additional evidence requirements for Taxi/minicab drivers: You will also need to provide: - Your last 2 MOT certificates (if you have just got your vehicle and only have one certificate, please send this now and send in the second certificate once available). - Written confirmation from your minicab operator of your Base Rent & customer pricing structure. - Proof of your PCO licence and your Private Hire Vehicle licence. These are legal requirements - please note that we may pass your details to TfL if you do not provide proof of your licences. 4. How are self-employed earnings calculated for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Reduction purposes? To work out your weekly earnings for your claim we calculate: Gross income from self-employment - Less any expenses allowed under Housing Benefit Regulations and Council Tax Reduction Rules - Less an amount for Income Tax (known as a notional amount - may be different from the actual amount you pay) - Less an amount for National Insurance (notional amount - as for Income Tax above) - Less half of any pension contributions you pay (we need to see original proof of your Pension Plan) If you have a business partner, we split the profit equally between the partners, unless evidence is provided to confirm a different percentage share. If you are part of a couple and employ your partner, the wages paid to them are allowable as a business expense. You must declare your partner s wages as income. 5. What should I provide if I am a company director? As a Company director you are treated as an employee for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction purposes. To enable us to work out the amount of income to take into account you will need to send in the following original evidence: Proof of your earnings: If you are paid weekly, please send in your last FIVE payslips If you are paid monthly or four-weekly, please send in your last TWO payslips Your most recent Director s Report and Financial Statements, which must include: the company s registration number; profit and loss accounts, which include a full breakdown of business costs; a full balance sheet, signed by a director on behalf of the board and the printed name of that director; notes to the account and group notes (if prepared); director s report showing the signature of the secretary or director and their printed name; auditor s report including the printed name of the registered auditor (unless exempt). Names of all company employees and their salaries. Business bank account statements for the last 6 months. Proof of any payments you make to a pension scheme. How you can contact Redbridge s Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction section: Email: Housing.Benefits@redbridge.gov.uk Reception: opening times at Olympic House, 28-42 Clements Road, Ilford, Essex, IG1 1BA [If you cannot visit reception because you are elderly and/or have an illness or disability telephone: 020 8708 4173] Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 8.45am to 4pm Wednesday: 9.45am to 4pm Telephone: 020 8708 5690.