In this section:
- Why your tax credits claim has to be renewed
- Help with the tax credits renewal pack
- Getting ready to renew your tax credits?
- Working out income from employment for your tax credits claim
- Working out income from self-employment for your tax credits claim
- Working out other income for your tax credits claim
- Deadlines for renewing your tax credits claim
Working out income from self-employment for your tax credits claim
When we work out your tax credits award - the amount of money you'll get - we look at your income for the last tax year. A tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next. If you're self-employed - on your own or in a partnership - this is the profit that you made.
Working out your income
This is a three-step process:
- Step 1: how much profit you made
- Step 2: what to take off
- Step 3: what did you have left?
Step 1: how much profit you made
First work out what profit you made. If you sent in a tax return for the last tax year, tell us the profit you showed. If you had more than one business, add up all of the separate business profits.
If you haven't sent us your tax return, you'll need to make your best guess based on your profit so far, which is the difference between all the money you made from doing work or selling goods and the cost of doing that business.
You can get help in working this out by calling the Self Assessment Helpline on Tel 0845 900 0444. It's open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm every day, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Easter Sunday.
Find out how to set up a simple profit and loss account on the Businesslink website
What else to include
If your business received other income or profits, for example rental income, add this to your profit: don't show it as ‘other income’ on your tax credits claim form or Annual Declaration form.
Also include any amount you deducted for averaging - perhaps because you're a farmer or market gardener and your profits fluctuate.
Step 2: what to take off
When you've worked out the profit, take off:
- the gross cost of any pension payments you made into a scheme registered with HM Revenue & Customs
- any trading losses from the same business you brought forward from a previous year
- the gross amount of any Gift Aid payments
- any adjustments you made for averaging - perhaps because you're
a farmer or market gardener and your profits fluctuate. If the adjustment:
- increases your profit - deduct this amount from your total profits
- reduces your profit - add this amount to your total profits
Step 3: what did you have left?
Take the Step 2 total from the Step 1 total to show your Income from self-employment and put this on your tax credits claim form or Annual Declaration form in the section on income.
If you made a loss in the last tax year, enter 0 in the box.
You can take a business loss from any other income you got during the year or that you and your partner or spouse had if you're making a joint claim. Any remaining loss can be carried forward to future years’ profits of the same business.
Download a working sheet to calculate relief and losses (PDF 250K)
If you've just become self-employed
If you've only just started working for yourself and had no income from self-employment in the last tax year, leave the ‘income from self-employment’ box blank.
Estimated income
If you do not have all the information you need to work out your annual income, then use what you do have to make a best guess.
For example, if the money you have coming in is roughly the same throughout the year, you can use that amount and multiply it by:
- 52 if you are paid weekly
- 12 if you are paid monthly
- 13 if you are paid every four weeks.
If the money you have coming in varies, take the amount you have so far and make a best guess for any remaining payments.
If your estimate is too low, we may pay you too much and you'll have to pay it back.
If you have estimated your income, put an x in the estimated income box of your tax credits claim form or Annual Declaration form.
Tell us if your income changes
You need to tell us straight away if you expect to have more or less
money coming in this year, so that we can make sure you don't get too
much or too little in the way of tax credits.
Find out what to do when your income
changes
Contact us
You can contact our Tax Credit Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909 (open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm seven days a week except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day).
More useful links
Which state benefits to report when making a tax credits claim
Working out other income for your tax credits claim
Working out income from employment for your tax credits claim
