Welfare Tax Credits: Self-employed

Treasury written question – answered at on 3 July 2014.

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Photo of Stephen Timms Stephen Timms Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many self-employed people claimed (a) child tax credits and (b) working tax credits in each of the last 10 years.

Photo of David Gauke David Gauke The Exchequer Secretary

The following table is based on finalised tax credits administrative data for each financial year. The latest data available are 2012-13.

Number of families in receipt of tax credits containing at least one member identified as self-employed
Thousand
Tax year Families benefitting from both WTC and CTC Families benefitting from WTC only
2007-08 740 80
2008-09 760 100
2009-10 780 130
2010-11 800 150
2011-12 750 160
2012-13 600 170

Data from earlier years are available only at disproportionate cost.

The decrease in the number of self-employed households in 2012-13 can largely be explained by the removal of the “second income threshold” of tax credits in April 2012. This policy change removed a large number of higher income households from the whole tax credits population.

In general, there is and has been a long-term trend of growth in the number of self-employed people.

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