COVID-19 Update – 4 May – Self-employment income support scheme

When the government announced the proposed Self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) they were very clear that it was “don’t call us, we’ll call you”! It was also indicated that funds would not be available until June at the earliest.

The good news is that today, HMRC are beginning to contact eligible customers, and have also launched an online eligibility checking service so you can check for yourself whether you are likely to be able to claim.  Get your UTR (10-digit tax reference number) and national insurance number handy (they should both be on your last tax return or correspondence you have received from HMRC) and then follow this link https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference.  If the checker indicates that you will qualify for the SEISS it will then ask you to sign into your government gateway and add your contact details (or make sure that they are up to date). This could be the one communication from HMRC that you would definitely not want to go astray!

The actual claims service is promised to open on 13 May, ahead of the previous June estimate, with claims being paid no earlier than 25^th May and it is hoped within six working days of making a claim. At present we do not know whether we, as agents, will be able to complete claims on behalf of clients, because the claim scheme is not yet up and running. We will check this as soon as more details become available and let people know.

As a quick reminder the money received will be based on an average of your trading profits and losses over the three tax years ended 5 April 2019. The amount will be calculated as 80% of the average monthly profit calculated and be paid in a single sum to represent 3 months.  The maximum payable will be £7,500 in line with the furlough support of up to £2,500 per month. It will be paid in a single amount and will be taxable as part of your 2020/2021 income.

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