Recent announcements for government SEISS aimed at self-employed or small limited company owners.

How much and for how long will the SEISS support grant last?

This is the 3rd grant available for self-employed and small limited company owners.

There has been so many changes to all the different schemes available, however the self-employed and small limited company directors have been at the back of the queue for a while now! The third scheme that will now hopefully help more recently self-employed and company directors access some support between now and the end of January. Here are the latest details for the third SEISS which launches at the end of November.

What you need to know:

Starts: 01 November 2020 (opens on 30/11/20)

Ends: 31 January 2021

How much: Up to £7500 This is calculated by 80% of an average 3 months of trading profits, with a maximum of £2500 per month. Your tax returns from 2017, 2018, 2019 will be used by HMRC to calculate this.

Who is eligible for the grant: The third grant has one new criteria that needs to be met (compared to the previous two grants)

NEW: You must declare that your business has been impacted by reduced demand due to Covid-19 in the qualifying period (01/11/2020 – 31/01/2021).

You can no longer claim because you are self-isolating/shielding nor do additional costs for PPE count now.

Self-employed starting date: You must have been self-employed prior to 6th April 2019. Your tax return must have been filed by 23 April 2020 for tax year 2018/19. If you started mid-year, your profit will not be calculated on a pro-rata basis, this amount will be used as your total profit for the year and divided by 12 to give an average monthly profit.

Income: Your self-employed income must be more than 50% of your total income. Income from property rentals for example, will be classed as “non trading income” therefore when combined, your self employed income must be over 50% of total income. If this fell short in the last year, HMRC will look at your previous returns for 2016/17 and 2017/18 to see your average trading profits.

Profit: Your average trading profit must be less than £50k a year.

Still Trading: You will need to declare you are actively trading and intend to continue to trade where possible (lockdown and restrictions).

If closed: You previously traded and have been unable to do so due to Covid-19 restrictions (lockdowns and government closure announcements).

Still working: Yes, you can continue to work if you claim the SEISS grant, as long as you declare your business has been impacted. You do not need to prove at this stage, however HMRC will investigate for fraudulent claims.

Previous grants: You do not need to have claimed for previous grants to be eligible for the current grant. You can apply for one or any number of the SEISS grants.

Universal credit: You can apply or be claiming universal credit, however remember if you then receive the grant, this will affect your universal credit payment from that date on.

Local lockdown payments: You can apply for the grant on top of local lockdown payments for help up to £3000 depending on your rates payable.

To find out more and how to apply visit HMRC's SEISS page.

Covid Support For Self Employed or Small Limited Company Owners

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