HMRC has published guidance on two new coronavirus- related grants for the self-employed that it will be administering.
The bad news is that the deadline for claiming the second Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant passed on 19 October. The good news is there will be two further rounds of grants and HMRC’s initial guidance sets out the terms and conditions for these.
To qualify for the third and fourth rounds of SEISS, you must:
- have been eligible for the previous SEISS grants, even if you didn’t claim them
- be actively trading when you make your claim and intend to continue trading; and
- be ‘impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus’ in the qualifying period. This condition differs slightly from previous grants and HMRC will shortly be publishing guidance on what it means in practice.
The qualifying period for the next grant runs from 1 November 2020 to the date you make a claim. The qualifying period for the fourth grant is expected to start on 1 February 2021 and end on the date of your claim.
HMRC will use the information it already has about your business profits to work out the amount of each new grant. The third grant will be equal to 30% of your average monthly trading profits, capped at £1,875 and paid a a lump sum. The amount of the fourth grant hasn’t been set. HMRC says it will review it nearer to the start of the qualifying period. As with the previous SEISS grants, these will count as income for tax and NI purposes.