Carer, wanting to go self employed

[Joanne_1704123]

Hello everyone, I am a new carer for my mum.. I however was going to go self employed before I started, in network marketing.. I still want to do so, and eventually be in a position to pay for someone to come in a do the things I do for her on a daily basis and stop my allowance.. I know I can earn £110 before it stops, however how do I prove my earning to Carers allowance and what is the process when self employed. I don't have wage slips and I will earn very little in the beginning? Anyone else self employed?

Thanks in advance..

[susieq]

Hello everyone, I am a new carer for my mum.. I however was going to go self employed before I started, in network marketing.. I still want to do so, and eventually be in a position to pay for someone to come in a do the things I do for her on a daily basis and stop my allowance.. I know I can earn £110 before it stops, however how do I prove my earning to Carers allowance and what is the process when self employed. I don't have wage slips and I will earn very little in the beginning? Anyone else self employed?

Thanks in advance..

Hello Joanne

the threshold for Carers Allowance has now increased to £116.00 (eff April 2017) per week. Have a look at the Carers UK factsheet on Carers Allowance here:

http://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice ... -allowance for more information. (don't worry if it says £110 per week it may not yet have been updated !).

I'd also suggest that you contact the Carers UK Adviceline team as they are the experts on all matters related to caring and benefits.

Need expert advice? You can talk to the Carers UK Adviceline five days a week, no matter where you are in the UK or how complex your query is. We do benefits checks and advise on financial and practical matters related to caring.

0808 808 7777
advice@carersuk.org
Open Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm

The Carers UK Adviceline also includes a listening service, there for you to talk through your caring situation with a trained volunteer who understands what you are going through. Available Mondays and Tuesdays, from 9am to 7pm.

If you can’t get through on the phones (lines are often oversubscribed) then send them an email, they’ll usually get back to you within 3-5 working days.

[SeasideDeb]

Once you inform the Carers Allowance people that you are going self employed they will send out various forms at regular intervals. Basically they will want to see your accounts to see that you are only making less than £116 per week. When I started I think I got a form every few months but now I just get one a year. They don't give you much time to get the forms back so it is best to keep your accounts up to date! You can either send you accounts - NOT the tax return - or fill in the section of the form for income, outgoings etc.

It is all very simple and easy to do. I have had no problems at all & I have been self employed & claiming carers for around 5 years now. Double check with the helpline for the finer details but as long as you keep the Carers Allowance people informed & fill in their forms there are no issues.

[Tania_1704]

I am looking into claiming carers allowance and currently working 16 hours, self employed, as a cleaner. The only thing putting me off is the £116 earning threshold. I currently earn £135 per week. I keep my own accounts, which are very basic, and i don't really have any deductions to make from my business. I have a car but i don't use it for work. I know you can claim childcare costs without the need for a registered childminder, but i usually work during school hours. I don't know what allowable expenses i could claim for to reduce my earnings. And do they ask to see your tax return?

[susieq]

I am looking into claiming carers allowance and currently working 16 hours, self employed, as a cleaner. The only thing putting me off is the £116 earning threshold. I currently earn £135 per week. I keep my own accounts, which are very basic, and i don't really have any deductions to make from my business. I have a car but i don't use it for work. I know you can claim childcare costs without the need for a registered childminder, but i usually work during school hours. I don't know what allowable expenses i could claim for to reduce my earnings. And do they ask to see your tax return?

Hello Tania

you can also claim 50% of any payments made into a personal pension plan to bring your earnings down under the threshold. So in your case, if you were to pay £40 per week into a pension plan you could deduct £20 (50%) and that would bring your earnings down to £115 per week. Although we usually recommend that you pay in slightly more to take account of any weeks when y ou might earn more due to overtime etc.There are some more examples in the Carers UK factsheet on Carers Allowance (link as above).

As I suggested to Joanne it's also a good idea to chat to our Adviceline team

[Tania_1704]

Thank you for the reply. I currently don't have a personal pension and wouldn't know where to start! Any idea of what other allowable business expenses are? Maybe the cost of invoices, cleaning products, or account software? If i were to use childcare during the holidays, how would i prove that i paid someone? And my tax return would show a different amount for earnings as i can't deduct childcare costs unless i use a registered childminder. I could start using my car for work. Would i have to send them my car insurance to prove i own a car, if i claim milage?

[Joanne_1704123]

I hope to not be claiming long has I said.. What happens if I go over the £116 and decided to stop claiming.. Do carers then leave me a lone? Or do I still after send them forms of my accounts? I know that might seem a silly question has I guess if I am not claiming no more then I don't after inform them of my accounts, but want to be clear on that

[susieq]

Thank you for the reply. I currently don't have a personal pension and wouldn't know where to start! Any idea of what other allowable business expenses are? Maybe the cost of invoices, cleaning products, or account software? If i were to use childcare during the holidays, how would i prove that i paid someone? And my tax return would show a different amount for earnings as i can't deduct childcare costs unless i use a registered childminder. I could start using my car for work. Would i have to send them my car insurance to prove i own a car, if i claim milage?

Sorry Tania I'm not any kind of expert but the Adviceline team are ! They will be able to answer all your questions, as I said before give them a call, if you can't get through on the phone then put your questions in an email and they will get back to you

[Chris From The Gulag]

Business expenses ... tax deductible ?

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-se ... d/overview

If flying solo , cross fingers that HM Revenue agree with your selection.

If not , an accountant ... or pray for Camelot to agree with the same figures ?