SEISS fifth grant final details

SEISS fifth grant final details

Self-employed people will be able to apply for a fifth and final Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant later this month.

When can I apply for the fifth SEISS grant?

The Government website says people will start being contacted with their personal claim dates in mid-July, and the claims window for the final grant will open towards the end of the month.

As with the previous grants, claim dates are staggered, so you will need to wait until the date you are given to apply.

Who is eligible for the grant?

The eligibility for the fifth grant is the same as for the fourth.

To be eligible you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.

You must have traded in the tax years:

·         2019-20, and submitted your tax return on or before 2 March 2021

·         2020-21

You must also either:

·         Be currently trading, but are impacted by reduced demand due to Covid-19

·         Have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to Covid-19

To work out your eligibility for the fifth grant, HMRC will look 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’re not eligible based on your 2019-20 tax return, HMRC will then look at the tax years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

When claiming you must declare that:

·         You intend to continue to trade

·         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 the pandemic from May 2021 to September 2021

You should keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by the pandemic.

Around 600,000 more people are able to apply for both the fourth and fifth grants, thanks to the Government allowing workers to submit their 2019-20 and 2020-21 self-assessment tax returns.

This means more of those who are newly self-employed could be able to apply for the latest grants, as before, only people with tax returns covering the 2018-19 tax year could apply.

How much can I claim?

Before you claim for SEISS 5, you will need to make sure you meet all the eligibility criteria. Here is a quick guide to the key points issued by HMRC.

How much is the fifth SEISS grant worth?

The fifth grant is different.

In most cases, you will need to provide two turnover figures when you make your claim, HMRC will use these to work out how much you will get.

You do not need turnover figures if you started trading in 2019 to 2020 and did not trade in the following tax years:

2018 to 2019

2017 to 2018

2016 to 2017

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.

If your turnover was reduced by 30 per cent or more, you will receive 80 per cent of three months’ average trading profits, to a maximum value of £7,500.

If your turnover reduction was less than 30 per cent, you will receive 30 per cent of three months’ average trading profits, to a maximum value of £2,850.

How do I apply for the grant?

Applications will likely be made in the same manner as the previous grants.

You should be contacted by email or text with your date for when you can claim.

Guidance says you will need the following to make a claim:

·         Your self-assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)

·         Your National Insurance number

·         Your Government Gateway user ID and password

·         Your UK bank details including account number, sort code, name on the account and address linked to the account

You should only provide bank details which can accept BACS payments.

It should take up to six working days after you have made a claim for your grant to be paid into your bank account, but HMRC asks that you wait 10 working days before contacting them, if payment has not been received.

Further Support can be found here

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