Universal Credit for the self-employed
How Universal Credit works if you are self-employed and how to report your self-employed income and expenses to Universal Credit every month.
Updates to this page
- From:
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Published:
- 28 March 2013
- Last updated:
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28 July 2026
Show all updates
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The document 'Claiming Universal Credit when you are self-employed' has been amended to clarify the requirements for reporting that you're self-employed. If you have significant control of a company, are a partner in a business, or a sole trader, you must declare yourself as self-employed in your Universal Credit accounts.
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Details on the treatment of e-bikes and e-scooters added to 'Business expenses you can report to Universal Credit if you are self-employed'.
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Clarified what is counted as a room in your property.
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'Business expenses you can report to Universal Credit if you are self-employed' guide amended for clarity to include 'car wash' in the examples of costs that cannot be claimed as actual costs if you use "simplified expenses (a flat rate) for vehicle expenses".
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Report business income and expenses to Universal Credit if you are self-employed: added guidance on how to treat income from selling goods on services, including on online platforms. Business expenses you can report to Universal Credit if you are self-employed: clarified what you can and cannot claim as business expenses if you work from home or use a vehicle for business travel.
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'Business expenses you can report to Universal Credit if you are self-employed' html publication: added ' voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions' to the list of business expense costs you can claim, under 'Tax, National Insurance and pension'.
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Updating Welsh to match recent changes to English
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Removed 'Class 2 National Insurance contributions' from the list of tax, National Insurance and pension expenses you can claim.
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Added videos about reporting your business income and expenses.
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Clarified that: - you should report yourself as self-employed if you're trading through a limited company - at a self-employment interview a work coach will decide if your business could have a similar set up to a sole-trader, if you trade through a limited company
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Included more detail about what car, van and travel expenses Universal Credit claimants can clam. Included new sections on training courses and reselling goods expenses.
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Updated 'Business expenses you can report to Universal Credit if you are self-employed' to clarify you can claim for rent of a business premises, such as an office or warehouse.
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Updating Welsh HTML page to match recent updated to English.
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Updated information in the Reporting your business income section relating to the sale or transfer of business assets previously declared as self-employment. Removed information about personal withdrawals, as this information already in the expenses section.
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Guidance updated for information about claiming universal credit if you are self employed
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Updating Welsh to match changes to English HTML pages.
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New documents added containing information about how to report business income and expenses to Universal Credit if you are self-employed and which business expenses you can report.
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Removed the 'Claiming Universal Credit during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak' section from the 'How to report your earnings from self-employment' guide.
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Removed guidance about applying for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme which ended on 30 September 2021. Corrected guidance on how Universal Credit calculates your payment which previously said that the minimum income floor only applied if your business had been running for more than 12 months.
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Updated both 'Universal Credit for the self-employed' and 'How to report your earnings from self-employment' guides. The rules for self-employed people claiming Universal Credit were temporarily changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. After 31 July 2021 the pre-pandemic rules will start to be applied again. This means that Universal Credit will check if you are gainfully self-employed. If so, your payment will be calculated using the Minimum Income Floor. And you may be eligible for a start-up period.
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New para 1.3 and updated Appendix 1 para 7.1, 7.2 and 7.5 to include what must and must not be reported due to receipt of any grants paid to support businesses affected by coronavirus.
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Added information about business assets not being taken into account when you make a Universal Credit claim.
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Added new guidance 'How a self-employed person reports their earnings for Universal Credit' during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
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Updated to show that Universal Credit is now available everywhere in Great Britain.
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Updated to reflect changes to Universal Credit from April 2016.
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Revised PDF published (version August 2015), updated to provide more information about self-employment for Universal Credit claimants.
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Revised PDF published (version June 2015), updated version provides clearer information about self-employment.
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Revised version with new information about the roll-out of Universal Credit.
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Updated to include the latest information about the expansion of Universal Credit
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Detail updated to include more information about the contents of the document.
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First published.
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Documents
Details
This guide explains how Universal Credit works for self-employed people.
It describes:
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what is expected of claimants who have their own business
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how Universal Credit decides if self-employment is their main work
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how their Universal Credit payments are calculated
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how Universal Credit will support new businesses
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how self-employed claimants report their income and expenses every month
To report your income and expenses, sign in to your Universal Credit online account.