Self-employed workers have this week been invited to apply for the fifth grant under the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
But traders have been warned that they must pass three eligibility tests before they can make a claim.
If you are self-employed and have been impacted by Covid-19 disruption, here’s what you need to know.
What is the Self Employment Income Support Scheme?
Launched in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the fifth SEISS grant provides self-employed workers who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic with up to 80 per cent of their average trading profits in a three-month period as a one-off lump sum.
Am I eligible?
To claim the fifth grant, you must pass three tests, known as stages one, two and three. These are summarised below:
Stage one: trading status
You must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.
You must also have traded in both tax years:
- 2019 to 2020
- 2020 to 2021
Stage two: Tax returns and trading profits
You must have:
- submitted your 2019 to 2020 tax return on or before 2 March 2021
- trading profits of no more than £50,000
- trading profits at least equal to your non-trading income
Stage three: Deciding if you can claim
When you make your claim you must tell HMRC that you:
- intend to keep trading in 2021 to 2022
- reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to the impact of COVID-19 between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021. More information on this stage can be found here.
How much can I get?
Unlike previous grants, self-employed workers must provide turnover figures for April 2020 to April 2021 and either 2019 to 2020 or 2018 to 2019 to work out how much they will get. More information can be found here.
Get expert advice
To find out more about the SEISS, please click here.
For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our expert corporate finance team today.