The Self Employment Income Support Scheme has been a lifeline for many in the last 18 months, providing financial aid to millions of self-employed Brits who have seen their profits deteriorate as a result of the pandemic. Here Nick Marshall, Director at Beatons Group, explains why there is still help for those struggling thanks to the fourth SEISS grant.
Millions of self-employed workers continue to face uncertainty in terms of their business’s future and the SEISS grant scheme, which has been in place since the first lockdown, has provided a valuable lifeline for these.
In March, the Treasury announced SEISS would continue until April 2021 as the country grappled with new variants and a mass vaccination programme.
The fourth grant covers a three-month period from February 1, 2021, until April 30, 2021.
Can you claim?
Workers who meet the criteria can claim 80% of average monthly profits capped at £2,500 a month.
The deadline is approaching, though – anybody claiming from the scheme must submit their application on or before Tuesday, June 1.
To apply, you will need your:
- Self-Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
- National Insurance number
- Government Gateway user ID and password
- UK bank details including account number, sort code, name on the account and address linked to the account
- Only provide bank account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted
You may also need to answer questions about your passport, driving licence or information held on your credit file.
You must make the claim yourself. A tax agent or adviser cannot claim on your behalf as this will trigger a fraud alert, which will delay your payment.
Are you eligible?
You must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. You cannot claim the grant if you trade through a limited company or a trust.
To be eligible for the previous three grants, self-employed workers had to have traded in both 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020.
For the fourth grant, there will now be an extra 600,000 newly self-employed people who may be eligible to claim support - because the Government is now allowing workers to submit their 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 self-assessment tax returns as evidence of their earnings.
Applicants must also be able to prove that they plan to continue trading, or providing a service, beyond the end of the support, which is expected to end in April.
To be eligible for the fourth grant you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. You cannot claim the grant if you trade through a limited company or a trust.
You must have traded in both tax years:
- 2019 to 2020 and submitted your tax return on or before March 2, 2021
- 2020 to 2021
You must either:
You must also declare that you:
- intend to continue to trade
- reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus between February 1, 2021, and April 30, 2021. You must keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.
What now?
Visit the Government website to find out how to make a claim for the fourth grant.
There will be a fifth grant covering May 2021 to September 2021.
Guidance on how to claim the fifth grant will be provided in due course.
If you would like advice on what to do next, please get in touch via info@beatons.co.uk or call 01473 659777.