Working Tax Credit guide available as booklet
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The printed paper version of PRIME’s brief guide to Working Tax Credit for the 2007 to 2008 financial year is now available.
You can still download the guide from here as a PDF, but if you would prefer a paper copy just email us your details and we’ll post you a free copy.
We are also distributing the 20-page booklet free to libraries, enterprise agencies and advice shops - so if you are one of those just email us your requirement.
Working Tax Credit is a kind of reverse income tax that you should get if your household income falls below a certain level. PRIME’s guide is written especially for self-employed people over the age of 50. It explains the scheme in only 20 pages and contains worked examples showing how much self-employed people in different circumstances would get.
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October 9th, 2007 at 11:37 am
I am now looking at how best to apply for Working Tax Credit having applied on the advice of JCP business start up officer and failed to achieve it as I was not yet trading or earning. My JCP officer also told me to dispense with constructing a formal business Plan with the foreword outlining my idea and competition etc. I have now that I am no longer signing on begun one. The problem is no finance to go forward so I may be back to signing on soon. If I cannot fulfill all criteria for claiming working tax credit while I source finance/grant to get me leap-frogged into producing/trading. The booklet will help to clarify my lack of knowledge as I need income to go forward
October 10th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
If you are working less than 16 hours a week (and it’s 30 hours if you are aged under 50) they won’t give you working tax credit. So it’s just for those working and on low incomes, as you are likely to be as you try and get your new business going.
However by the same token if you are working less than 16 hours a week you should still be able to get Jobseekers Allowance. The best way to do this is to go onto a “test trading” scheme if this is available under New Deal in your area. But even if test trading isn’t available you can legally work for under 16 hours a week and still get benefit as long as you declare it. There’s not much point in this long term as they take all but a few pounds of your earnings, but if you are just trying a new idea out it means you don’t have to sign off and close your claim.
The rules for those on Incapacity Benefits are more complex. Starting to work at anything can close your claim, so it’s best to go on an official Jobcentre-approved test trading scheme if you can.