Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) – Update

Important Update 

On 29 May 2020, the government provided a further update on a second SEISS grant being made available and on 12 June some clarification on the circumstances affecting your right to claim under the SEISS, including some examples.

When it was first announced, on 6 May 2020 we set out the eligibility criteria and limitations on claiming under the first tranche of the SEISS here. We now give this further update to bring the details of current announcements to you.

First of all, claims for the first tranche of the SEISS grant, valued at 80% of average monthly trading profits for three months and capped at £7,500, must be made by self-employed taxpayers on or before the deadline date of 13 July 2020 and you must confirm that your profits have been adversely impacted by Covid 19 up to that date. The online claims process is open for you to claim this.

There will be a second tranche of SEISS grant to claim if your business has been adversely affected by Covid 19 after 13 July and that will open for claims in August 2020. The amount of this second tranche will be an amount equal to 70% of average monthly taxable trading profits covering a period of three months, capped at £6,570.

You can claim either of the grants or both of them depending upon how and when you have been affected and this is what HMRC’s examples now indicate, though they do not aim to cover all circumstances. Both the first and second grant claimed are taxable as normal trading profits for both income tax and self-employed Class 4 NI.

The examples and the text of the latest HMRC announcement is here. If you need help in deciding your eligibility or in making the claim, please contact us in good time before the deadline date. We cannot, however, make the claim on your behalf as this will trigger a fraud alert to HMRC and cause complications and delay or negate the claim.