Self-employed, sole trader or business income

We need to know the following:

• your total income before tax or any other deductions
• any business expenses you want to deduct from your income
• the number of hours you worked that week
• your hourly rate (if applicable)
• when you earned the income (not when you were paid).

Please note, the expenses you can deduct from your income can be different for benefit purposes than it is for tax purposes. We'll discuss this with you during your appointment (see below section ‘How to tell us’ under ‘step 2’).

Make an estimate

If you don't know what you'll earn, tell us what you think it will probably be.

For example, you may need to do this if you work on the weekend.

We may still pay you too much or too little. But your debt will usually be less than if you don’t declare any income.

Starting a new job

If you start a new job we also need to know:

• who you work for (this could be more than one employer or yourself)
• when you started work.

We need to know your income the week you earn it, even if you’re paid:

• fortnightly
• monthly, or
• on an irregular basis.

Step 1 - Declaring your income

The easiest way to tell us your income is through MyMSD.

MyMSD

Select 'Declare wages' and then 'Self-employed’ for self-employed, sole trader or business income.

For anything else (eg interest and investments), or if you're unsure, choose 'Change other income'.

If you can't use MyMSD

If you can't use MyMSD you can call us or come into one of our service centres.

If you’re declaring income from self-employment, make sure you mention you're self-employed.

Step 2 - We’ll contact you

We’ll contact you and explain if there’s anything more you need to do.

If we have everything we need, we may be able to help you over the phone.

However, there may be times we need you to come in for a face-to-face appointment.

You'll need to provide either a:

• IR3 – Individual tax return, or
• profit and loss account

and either a

• IR3B – Schedule of business income, or
• IR10 – a financial statements summary.

We’ll tell you the best way to get your documents to us when we talk to you (see 'How to tell us').

If you don't have these forms, or we need more information, we may ask you to provide:

• your full set of accounts, or
• a personal declaration.

It’s important we have the correct income information. If you need help preparing this, support is available online and in the community.

The Inland Revenue website is a helpful place to start.

For help in the community, see the Family Services Directory.

You can check how your income will affect your benefit using the income deduction tables.

If you've already told us about your income, it will show in MyMSD.

If you think the amount you entered  isn't correct, please change this as soon as you can by logging back into MyMSD.

If you need to change your income after 6pm on Friday, call us before midday on the following Monday.