If you haven’t done so already – it is really important for any sole traders/partnerships to get their self-assessment in today.
If it is not done by close of business today (23rd April 2020) – you will not be eligible for the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme!
The SEISS (Self-Employed Income Support Scheme) is there to assist those businesses affected by the Corona Virus. This scheme is for Sole Traders and/or Partnership businesses. It is a grant – which means that it will not have to be repaid. You will have to count it towards your income for this tax year though. You can claim up to £2500 per month for up to 3 months, but this may be extended, should the whole Corona Virus thing not disappear quite as quick as we had hoped.
If you are elgible – the HMRC will write to you in due course, inviting you to make an application on their website. The system isn’t fully set up yet, but the HMRC have said that they expect this to be about middle May time, with payments being made early June.
If you are struggling for money now, you are also allowed to apply for universal credit, during this interim period. It’s worth noting that the grant money, once paid to your business, should be declared and may affect what you would be receiving for Universal Credit.
WHO CAN CLAIM?
You can claim if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:
- have submitted your Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018 to 2019
- traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
- are trading when you apply, or would be except for coronavirus
- intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
- have lost trading profits due to coronavirus
You will need to confirm to HMRC that your business has been adversely affected by coronavirus. HMRC will as usual use a risk based approach to compliance.
Your trading profits must also be no more than £50,000 and more than half of your total income for either:
- the tax year 2018 to 2019
- the average of the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019
