Since I separated (now divorced) from my husband last year I have been claiming working and child tax credits as I work approx 30hours a week in my main job as a chiropodist and also get a little income from my crafting. I am now giving up my main job and will only be getting earned income from my craft business (until my savings run out/pension kicks in) - I expect I will be working enough hours, although this will be hard to quantify, to still qualify for working tax credits but my profits do not run into much (probably only about £1-2K per year). I am selling my house so will have a little nest egg to keep me going for a bit. My question is - can I still claim working tax credits if my only income is coming from my craft business (I believe savings are not taken into account). Is anyone else in the same position and claim?
I think the best thing would be to send a letter explaining the whole situation and see what they say.
Or isn’t there some kind of form you have to fill in?
Sorry I’ve never claimed anything so I don’t know how it works
I have Working Tax Credits - my crafting is my only income, and at the moment is not enough to live on. So long as you can prove that you are working enough hours (which is easy to do if you have a well stocked shop and other on line presence that can be looked at) and can show that you are attempting to make a profit there is no problem.
They are very helpful if you contact them for advice too 
Thanks Sara @DandelionsGallery - just wasn’t sure how I could quantify my working hours but hadn’t thought about showing stock in online shops. Hopefully if I put enough hours in it will show a bit more profit next year
I used to claim working tax credit when we worked as market traders (and so did many fellow traders). It’s not that uncommon, so the benefits people are (relatively) used to the concept.
Why don’t you keep a daily planner and mark off the hours you’re actually working on your business - include all work, not just the ‘making’ time - then you’ll have a record if anyone needs to know. I did claim WTC for a while, just on my craft business income, and they were ok with it. I kept a spreadsheet with my hours worked just in case it was needed, but it never was. When I do 3/4 day craft fairs, I work the 30 hours just in a few days!!
I know what hours I do regularly as I have set times for admin, posting/packing, commission work etc, so I keep a table of those, and then add on all the actual crafting hours. It actually gets scary how many hours I do work some weeks, especially in the run up to Christmas
I have been claiming working tax credit for the last 5 years and my craft business is my only source of income