Self-Employed Income Support Scheme remains available until September

Citizens Advice Devon and Cornwall focuses on key issues and answers questions

I AM self-employed and work has really fallen away because of coronavirus restrictions.

I claimed for the first three SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme payments and have heard that there is some additional help now available from the scheme. What is the latest, please?

The Government has announced a further grant under the SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme for the period February, 2021, to April, 2021.

HMRC will work out your eligibility by firstly looking at your 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income. If you are not eligible based on your 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return, HMRC will then look at the tax years 201617, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

You must also have traded in both tax years; 2019-20 and submitted your tax return by March 2, 2021, and 2020-21.

You must either be currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus, or have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.

You must also declare that you intend to continue to trade and that you reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus.

The grant will provide a taxable grant calculated at 80% of three months’ average trading profits, and will be paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total.

The online claims service for the fourth grant will be available from late April until May 31, 2021.

If you are eligible, HMRC will contact you in mid-April to give you your personal claim date. This will be the date that you can make your claim from.

The Government has also announced that there will be a further grant covering the period from May to September, 2021. You will be able to claim from late July if you are eligible for the fifth grant.

The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced in the year April, 2020, to April, 2021. The fifth grant will be worth: 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500, for those with a turnover reduction of 30% or more. 30% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £2,850, for those with a turnover reduction of less than 30%.

The information contained in these articles does not constitute advice. Citizens Advice Devon, Citizens Advice Cornwall and the Western Morning News accept no liability for the information published. Citizens Advice Devon is unable to respond to individual requests for advice through these columns. Copyright: Citizens Advice.