Hi , i am self employed but not doing very well at all, i just about make the mortgage so id say ive been earning only about 160 a week b. The mortgage alone is 455. So i was wondering is there any help i may be able to get with tax or council tax or anything or as i am self employed am i out of receiving help. Many thanks

Just to add, Im not trying to get anythingfor noothing ,ive been self employed for 10 years, never claimed any benefits so i dont know anything about getting help. im just wondering if its worth battling on anymore.lol

Hello there. This is a copy and paste from the directgov website, don't know if it will help or not. There was more that I didn't copy, about what benefits depend on your contributions or not.

Different classes of National Insurance contributions

Whether or not you can claim contributory benefits - and the amount you will get - depends partly on the:

• type of National Insurance contributions you've paid (see the table below)
  
• amount of National Insurance contributions you've paid or been credited with
  

National Insurance contribution classes and what they pay for

Benefit Class 1 - paid by employees Class 2 - paid by self-employed people Class 3 - paid by people who want to top up their contributions Basic State Pension Yes Yes Yes Additional State Pension Yes No No Contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance Yes No (except for share fishermen and volunteer development workers employed abroad) No Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance Yes Yes No Maternity Allowance Yes Yes No Bereavement benefits Yes Yes Yes Class 4 National Insurance contributions - paid by some self-employed people - don't count towards any state benefits.

Class 1A and Class 1B contributions - paid by employers only - don't count towards the employee's benefits.

My best, HB

How many hours do you work? Are you single or in a couple? The reason that I ask is you may be eligible for tax credits depending on your age (if not claiming already).

Certainly worth applying to your local Council for Council Tax Benefit. They will then assess you on your household incoem and savings.