The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (“BTWEA”) is provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and is designed to encourage the long-term unemployed to take up self-employment opportunities by allowing them to retain a reducing portion of their social welfare payment, plus secondary benefits in certain circumstances, over two years.

You still receive social welfare payments for up to 2 years. You can receive 100% in first year and 75% in second year as well as the income from your new business. The objective of the scheme is to support the unemployed to commence self-employment in order to generate new enterprises and increase employment.

The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) supports you if you have lost your job/have been made redundant and you want to start your own business. The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance is paid instead of your Jobseeker’s Benefit for a maximum of 9 months. It ends when your entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit ends (that is, at either 9 or 6 months).

You can read the guidelines in the links above, but for BTWEA you require a referral from a case officer in INTREO to an Enterprise officer in a local partnership. Your case officer will discuss the BTWEA with you and provide you with an “Assessment of Suitability” and a “Referral” to your local enterprise officer.

You can download the forms from DSCP or the Enterprise Team at Dublin South City Partnership can email them to you.

If you qualify for the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance you can keep the following portion of your social welfare payment, including increases for a qualified adult and qualified children, for a maximum of 2 years: At 100% for the 1st year and 75% for the 2nd year

You can keep your secondary benefits (apart from Rent or Mortgage Interest Supplement) for as long as you are getting the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance provided your household income is less than €317.43 gross per week. The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance is paid directly into your bank or building society account each week.

We run monthly finance and accounts Q&A sessions, where you can ask this question and decide when it is best for you and your business to register for VAT, it depends on your type of business and thresholds.

You submit the form to the Enterprise Team at Dublin South City Partnership, they will review for the last time, make duplicates and submit to the case officer on your behalf, signed, stamped and approved for commercial viability then INTREO review for final approval and will contact you to update you.

Usually, it is better to wait until your enterprise officer has reviewed your BTWEA/STEA application form, your Business Workbook, your Cashflow and your CRO application and any permits/licences required. Then you can review your My Account and register with ROS, which will also allow you then to download a TCAN(tax clearance document).

Clients on the BTWEA or STEA schemes can apply for the Enterprise Support Grant (E.S.G.). For BTWEA the maximum is €2500 over a two-year period with those on the STEA being able to apply on a pro rata basis (6 or 9 month).

You can only get an Enterprise Support Grant (“ESG”) if you have been approved for the BTWEA/STEA. The business plan you submit as part of your application for the scheme must set out the rationale and requirement for financial support. The ESG can pay a total of €2,500 in any 24-month period (or STEA pro-rata). You must be able to make a matching contribution of at least 10% to access grant support. You need to provide documentary evidence of the costs (quotations from at least 2 suppliers or, if a single supplier, the reasons for choosing a single supplier). This is approved by your case officer in INTREO.

Yes, provided you meet the requirements of a Jobseekers Allowance (JA) claim. A client can also apply for J.A. if their business activity is not meeting their means and they are not in receipt of scheme support.

Clients who are on a Jobseekers Benefit (J.B.) claim can apply for a Short Term Enterprise Allowance (S.T.E.A.) which allows them to receive a payment equivalent to their benefit into their bank account until their J.B. was due to run out. For more information, see STEA, Clients in receipt of a Jobseekers allowance claim who have been in receipt of a payment for more than nine months can apply for the Back To Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA). This scheme allows a client to receive 100% of their JA payment weekly into their bank account for the first 12 months, and 75% in the second 12 months. For more information, see BTWEA

Clients on the BTWEA or STEA schemes can apply for the Enterprise Support Grant (E.S.G.). For BTWEA the maximum is €2500 over a two year period with those on the STEA being able to apply on a pro rata basis (6 or 9 month).

As a sole trader/Partnership or Limited Company, you are responsible for keeping detailed records of all the transactions of your business. These records will show the total turnover of your business per calendar year from which you will subtract your business expenses. The remainder is reckonable income: the amount that you will pay Income Tax, PRSI and USC on. Tax returns for the previous trading year are made online via Revenue Online Service (ROS) by the 31 October annually.