The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant opens today (30 April), and covers 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2021.
For those who have previously claimed under the scheme HMRC would have emailed you details of how and when to claim if you meet the eligibility criteria for this round.
If you were newly self-employed in 2019/20 or perhaps didn’t meet the criteria last year it is worthwhile checking your eligibility again as the 4th grant also takes into account, your self-employed income for 2019/20 as well as 2018/19.
Its easy to check your eligibility by following the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme
If you meet the eligibility criteria and have claimed in the past use the Government Gateway login details you already have.
If you are claiming for the first time you will need to set up a Government Gateway account to claim the SEISS if you don't already have one.
Claiming for the first Time:
It would be useful if you had the following information to hand:
- Passport or Photo Driving License
- Your email open (as a link will be emailed to you)
- Bank Account details
- Mobile phone (as an access code will be sent)
Other information:
- Your Unique Tax Reference
- Your National Insurance Number
Who can claim
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 2 March 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
Reasonable belief
In order to claim the fourth grant, you must reasonably believe that you’ll suffer a significant reduction in trading profits, due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021. You must keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.
HMRC expects you to make an honest assessment about whether you reasonably believe your business will have a significant reduction in profits.
Significant reduction
Before you make a claim, you must decide if the impact on your business between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021 will cause a significant reduction in your trading profits for the tax year you report them in.
HMRC cannot make this decision for you because your individual and wider business circumstances will need to be considered when deciding whether the reduction is significant.
You should wait until you have a reasonable belief that your trading profits are going to be significantly reduced, before you make your claim.
You do not have to consider any other coronavirus scheme support payments that you have received when deciding if you’ve had a significant reduction in your trading profits.
If you meet the criteria, please click here to claim:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme
As with previous grant claims HMRC state we cannot make claims on your behalf. The taxpayer has to make the claim and is required to have a Government Gateway account.
If you need any further information or we can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Dawn, James, Mark, Penn, Deb, Lucy, Becky