The Government has provided more support for the self employed in the latest March 2021 Budget announcement.
What period will the grant cover?
The grant will cover the period from February 2021 to April 2021. It is expected that claims can be made from late April 2021. HMRC will contact self employed workers that are eligible for the grant from mid April. All claims for the fourth grant must be made by 31 May 2021.
There will then be the fifth and final grant, that will cover May through to September and it is likely that will be available in late July, however this is not yet confirmed.
You will receive 80% of 3 months' average trading profits if your self employed business turnover has fallen by 30% or more and this will be capped at £7,500. If you have a turnover reduction of less than 30% you are eligible to receive 30% of 3 months' average trading profits, capped at £2,850.
Am I eligible for the SEISS grant?
For the fourth SEISS grant, you need to be either currently trading but suffering reduced demand because of the coronavirus, or temporarily unable to trade because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Other eligibility includes:
- You must have traded in the tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21 and submitted your 2019/20 tax return by 2nd March
- You must declare that you intend to continue to trade and you believe that there will be a significant reduction on trading profits
- To be eligible you must have trading profits of no more than £50,000 and these must be at least equal to your non trading income
- You do not have to have received a grant previously in order to be eligible for this SEISS grant but you must meet the current eligibility criteria.
You must make the claim for SEISS yourself. It cannot be carried out by tax agents or advisers, including your accountants.