HMRC -announce SEISS fourth grant details

HMRC have updated their Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) guidance to reflect the fourth grant which will become available later this month.

• The SEISS is a Coronavirus support payment designed to financially assist the self-employed through the pandemic.
• Details of the fourth SEISS grant, covering May to September 2021, was announced at Budget 2021 on 3 March 2021. The grant is set at 80% of three months average trading profits paid in a single instalment and capped at £7,500.
• This is the first of the SEISS grants to take into account 2019-20 tax returns and will be available to those who became newly self-employed in that tax year (between 6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020).

Conditions

In order to qualify for the fourth grant, there are a number of key conditions which must be met. The taxpayer must:

• Carry on a trade that has been adversely affected by circumstances arising from Coronavirus.
• Have submitted tax returns, before 3 March 2021, for all relevant years.
• Have traded in both 2019-20 and 2020-21.
• Intend to continue to carry on a trade in 2021-22.
• Have trading profits of £50,000 or less which are at least equal to non-trading income.
• o This test will first be applied to 2019-20. If the condition is not met in that year, HMRC will look at the overall position in up to four previous tax years.

Claims and HMRC contact

• In mid-April 2021, HMRC will contact eligible taxpayers by e-mail, letter or online to give a personal claim date.
• o This personal claim date will be the earliest date on which a claim can be made.
• In March 2021, HMRC started to contact taxpayers directly who became newly self-employed in 2019-20 and may be eligible for the grant.
• o Not all newly self-employed taxpayers will be contacted. Those that do not receive contact should wait to receive their personal claim date in mid-April.
• The online service to claim the fourth grant will be available from late April2021.
• o As with previous rounds of SEISS grants, agents (accountants) cannot claim on behalf of clients.
• Claims for the fourth grant must be made on or before 1 June 2021.

Further guidance can be found here

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