Hi there

Hoping someone can give me some advice on this!

I am self-employed on a low income which qualifies me for housing benefits. I am also an amateur musician and have recently started playing in a band doing a few low paid gigs. I obviously need to declare this income, but I have just had some major repairs carried out to my amplifier which have completely wiped out any 'profit' I may have made from the gig payments, in fact when I crunch the numbers and work out what I have paid out on running repairs and other expenses such as equipment replacement or payments for rehearsal studio time etc this is very much a labour of love and not a money making venture at all. So although I am not making money, I do need to be up front about what I am doing because obviously I do not want to be accused of cheating the benefits system. So, my question is can anyone tell me if these expenses can be offset against this income and what is the best way to go about presenting the information (spreadsheet maybe) or perhaps I should just give them a call and explain it to them over the phone?

Thanks in advance for any help

Pianista

Hi, and welcome to CAG. As a general rule, you can offset necessary expenses for self employment against any income you make from that employment. So, for example, repairs to your amplifier could probably count as business expenses and be deducted from any amount you earn when your net income is calculated.

This leaflet is from Hackney Council, London, but the rules about this are the same across the UK. You should speak to your council's HB department in the first instance. Make sure you keep all receipts and invoices relating to your business, especially for expenses that you hope to deduct.

Okay thanks for that advice