Hi
New to the forums so apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
Bit of background:
I care for my partner who is in the Support group ESA. I claim CA but also work as a self employed artist. I have been doing this work for the past 3 years or so and have informed both the CA and ESA of the situation.
As my partner recieves an IR element to her ESA claim, I’m required to submit Income & Expenditure accounts on a yearly basis to both CA & ESA. The CA have never caused me any problems but the ESA are a bit of a nightmare to deal with as they have problems understanding my fluctuating income. Because of our position re.benefits I can only earn £20 pw after expenses, above this everything I earn is taken pound for pound from the IR portion of my partners ESA. My income is averaged over 52 weeks.
ESA have always sent me a request in January asking me to submit my last 3 pay slips which obviously relates to people on PAYE. I have always responded by producing a set of accounts up to January but informing them that as I am self employed I can not provide a full set of accounts until April. Meaning I have to produce 2 sets of accounts. So twice the worry over whether they will be accepted or not.
After the last cock up where the ESA apparently didn’t receive my I&E, but never informed me of this resulting in me losing £300 as they could only back date any change in circumstances to when they were told of them (I just assumed it was the usual delays in the system as they’re generally prettty swift in suspending a claim when their requests for information go unanswered. Lesson learned: always phone and confirm).
Recently I have been thinking of setting my business up as a LTD company as this would mean that all of my income would go into the company and I could draw a wage of £20 pw from the company. The benefit of this for me would be that it should aleviate the headache of having to produce seperate accounts for ESA, CA and HMRC who have differing rules on allowable expenses.
I was wondering if anyone else has taken a similar route and if so what were their experiences with regards to the DWP?
many thanks
Hi Craig … welcome to the canteen.
Carers Allowance / Self Employment ?
A regular visitor to the forum with numerous variations over the years.
Search bit towards the top … click on QUICK LINKS to access … CARERS ALLOWANCE SELF EMPLOYMENT … will reveal XXX number ?
One for the Carers UK Advice Team … contact details follow … best by email :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/carer-disability-benefits/how-to-contact-the-carers-uk-adviceline-24147
Not a " One size fits all " solution … even more so if Universal Credit has been rolled out on your manor ???
Satisfying both the TaxMan and DoleMan … at the same time … can be a achievement in itself.
Let us know how matters progress.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction ill get an email off to them.
Just seen your thread on how the CA is going to be purged for overpayments. Another worry to add to my ever growing list. Any idea how many years theyre going back with this as I’ve been self employed and receiving CA in the past but won’t have any records relating to more than 5-6 years ago so could find it difficult to prove my income!
Yep … you certainly came to the right place when it comes to ANY news affecting carers in their daily
struggle to survive in CarerLand.
In fact , now the ONLY oasis in cyberspace … and nothing’s hidden from view by anyone surfing in !
Written by us , the inmates , for other inmates to read and digest.
As for the DWP Purge thread , time I patented that one … and quite a few others ?
yep seems like a great information source, hat off to you mate for all the hard work.
Sorry to ask again, but any idea what the scope of the investigation is i.e. how far back are they going. As said I’m concerned as I’ve binned a lot of my records that provide proof of income!
many thanks
Your welcome.
Unlike my chosen avatar … INFORMATION … that’s my main purpose being back on here.
DWP Purge thread ?
EVERYTHING we know is posted on there … given the gravity of said issue , I make it a priority to trawl
daily for anything to add , from whatever source … unless it is a totally one sided article !
Worse bit ?
The DoleMan … judge and jury all in one !