Brent Council Tax Reduction for Self-Employed and Gig Workers

How Brent assesses self-employed income

If you're self-employed, Brent asks for evidence of your income from recent trading periods to assess your weekly income band.

The evidence you'll need is different from an employed applicant. Instead of payslips, Brent expects one of:

• Audited accounts covering recent trading periods
• Your most recent HMRC self-assessment return
• A formal income and expenditure ledger showing earnings and business costs

If you've been trading for less than a year and don't have an HMRC return yet, prepare a detailed income and expenditure record for the period you have been trading. The council needs something concrete to work with.

Gig workers and zero-hours contracts

The lines between employment and self-employment get blurry for platform workers, delivery drivers, and anyone on zero-hours contracts. Brent's scheme cares about your actual weekly income, not your employment classification.

If your employer (or platform) provides payslips, submit 5 consecutive weekly payslips. These should be the most recent available.

If you're genuinely self-employed through a platform (registered as a sole trader, responsible for your own tax), you'll follow the self-employed evidence route above.

For employees, Brent calculates net earned income after income tax and National Insurance, and deducts 50% of personal or occupational pension contributions. Self-employed applicants should provide the recent trading evidence listed above.

Fluctuating income is the main challenge

The banded system creates cliff edges that matter when your income moves around. Earning £79 a week puts you in Band 1 (65% reduction). Earning £81 pushes you to Band 2 (50%). That's a significant jump in your council tax bill for a £2 change in weekly income.

For self-employed and gig workers whose income fluctuates, the council reassesses when it receives updated information, so a higher countable weekly income can move your band upward.

Report income changes promptly — within 21 days. If your income drops and you don't report it, you miss out on a higher CTR award. If it rises and you don't report it, you build up an overpayment that gets added to your bill later.

Universal Credit and self-employment

If you're self-employed and claiming Universal Credit, Brent uses the earned-income figures provided by the DWP through Real Time Information. Check the income figure in your Decision Notice; if you believe the council has used it incorrectly, you can send a written grievance under Section 16 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

The Brent Council Tax Reduction guide includes a self-employment income worksheet to help you organize the trading records Brent asks you to provide.

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