OK thank you. To be honest, I find most of their letters confusing and take ages to get a reply to. I think I will phone to check things out tomorrow, and if they can't explain it in a way I understand, then I will write to them.

Thanks for your reply. I asked ESA and they confirmed that NO portion of the ESA received was contributory. Yes, I do get both premiums you mentioned. But what is this £6069.71 taxable benefit made up of? I can't see where they got the £6069.71 since my benefits were £9427.60 and my profits were £5,271.97.

Thanks Honeybee Have a lovely evening and thanks for your help.

Thanks for the welcome. I don't know. I'm in the support group and get the severe disability premium as well. I get £373.80 every two weeks from ESA, so that's £9718.80 per year roughly.

Hi, I receive non-contributory ESA and also receive payments from previous self-employment (royalties etc.), so I still have to fill out a self-assessment form. I had completed my self-assessment form already, on which I had stated I received £5,271.97 net profit from my self-employment. Then I received a P60U form from the DSS stating I had been paid £9427.60 in ESA for the last tax year, £6069.71 of which was taxable. When I phoned to check this, ESA didn't really know what they were talking about, so I phoned HMRC and they said that anything over my personal allowance of £11,000 is taxable (profit + benefit). Now, £9427.60 + £5,271.97 = £14,699.57, so if you take £11,000 from that total, then that leaves £3,699.57. Surely that should be the taxable amount of benefit? Am I missing something? I can't see where they got the £6069.71 from. Am I being a moron? Thanks for any help.