DLA and working tax credits

cripamazon wrote: Can you get working tax credits if you are on DLA? I thought DLA was a benefit for all people including those in work and out, but some guides I have seen suggest that you have to tell the DLA if you start work and it may affect your DLA award.
If your ESA has been stopped and you want to try to do some work (eg from home) and claim working tax credit, will this affect DLA? and does planning/writing plans for future work count as 'work'? If you come off ESA and pay NI contributions and then cannot manage work, how soon can you re-apply for ESA?
confused....

I think that there are actually two issues rather than one which may be why you are confused.

Can you get Tax Credits while receiving DLA, yes! In fact your receiving DLA may mean that you are also entitled to the Disability element of WTC's.

However, your DLA is not counted as income in regard to WTC's as is the case for other benefits.

DLA, in principle, is not affected by a claimant working or not, and there is no specific requirement for you to notify the DWP if you start or stop work, unless your doing also results in a Change of Circumstances. So if you are planning to start work then you also need to consider whether the work you are looking at contradicts you stated level of disability, for example; you are looking at being a postman and have an award of Higher Rate Mobility.

Even though you are only receiving NI Credits, you are still classed as having an active ESA claim, so your options for continuing to claim ESA are limited, normally you cannot work and receive ESA unless you are carrying out Permitted Work, see

Permitted Work

Gordon