The UK Government has today announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September with a fourth and fifth grant. We will contact customers who may be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant from mid-April to tell them how they can claim.
The fourth and fifth grants will take into account 2019 to 2020 tax returns and will also be open to those who became self-employed in the 2019 to 2020 tax year. This means that some customers may be able to claim, even if they were not eligible for previous grants.
To qualify, you must have filed your 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return by 2 March 2021, at the latest.
Fourth SEISS grant
The UK Government will pay a taxable grant which is calculated based on 80% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single payment and capped at £7,500 in total. The value of the grant is based on an average of your trading profits for up to four tax years between 2016 to 2020, where available.
The grant will be available to claim by late April. As with previous grants, trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to non-trading income in order to claim the fourth SEISS grant.
Eligibility for the fourth SEISS grant will depend on whether you experienced a significant financial impact from coronavirus between February 2021 and April 2021.
HMRC will take into account your 2019-20 return when assessing your eligibility for the scheme. This may also affect the amount of the fourth grant, which could be higher or lower than previous grants you have received.
For this period, you will need to make an honest assessment that there has been a significant reduction in trading profits due to reduced demand or your inability to trade. If you make a claim, you will need to keep appropriate records as evidence.
For further details of the changes to eligibility and calculation of the grant, please visit GOV.UK and search ‘Self-Employment Income Support Scheme’.
What happens next
HMRC will contact you from mid-April if we believe you may be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant to tell you how you can claim. You will be provided with your personal claim date, which will be the earliest date you can submit a claim for the fourth SEISS grant.
Claims for the fourth SEISS grant must be made by 31 May 2021, at the latest.
The UK Government has also announced that there will be a fifth and final SEISS grant, covering the period between May and September, which you will be able to claim from late July if you are eligible.
The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced. The grant will be worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500, for those with a higher reduction in turnover (30% or more). For those with a lower reduction in turnover, of less than 30%, the grant will be worth 30% of three months’ average trading profits.
Further details will be provided on the fifth grant in due course.
