Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) Extended

The Government announced in yesterday’s Budget that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant has been extended up until September 2021.

What does the SEISS grant extension cover?

The SEISS, which permits self-employed people whose business and income have been impacted by Covid-19 to claim money from the Government, will provide two further payments (fourth and fifth grants).

The fourth grant will cover February until the end of April 2021, and will pay up to 80% of trading profits (on average over the three month period) up to £7,500 in total. Claims for the fourth grant can be made from April.

The fifth grant amount covers a four month period (May to September 2021) but this payment will be based upon loss of income, as follows:

• Those whose turnover has dropped by at least 30% will still be able to apply for a grant for up to 80% of profits, up to a value of £7,500.
• For those whose turnover has reduced by less than that, they will be able to apply for up to 30% of trading profits (capped at £2,850).

Claims for the fifth grant can be made in July.

Those who have previously claimed via the SEISS will be able to do so again, as will an estimated 600,000 self-employed people who previously weren’t able to as they were not able to demonstrate their self-employed status on their tax return.

In order to claim the grant payments, self-employed individuals will need to have completed tax returns for the 2019/20 financial year in order to qualify, based on the provision that they filed their tax return by the end of the day on 2^nd March 2021.

Who can claim the SEISS grant extension?

Those who are eligible for the grant extension are self-employed individuals, which includes members of partnerships, who must have:

• Previously been eligible to claim the SEISS grants, although they do not have to have claimed the previous grants in order to claim the extended grants.
• Declared that they intend to continue trading going forwards and are either:
  • Still trading but have been impacted by reduced demand due to Covid-19; or
  • Are unable to trade as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, as the eligibility requirements will be predominantly the same as with the previous SEISS grants, it will not be available to freelancers, contractors and newly self-employed individuals.

How can I claim the SEISS grant extension?

The online claims service for the fourth grant will be available from late April 2021 until 31st May 2021.

It has been suggested that HMRC will contact those eligible in mid-April to provide them with a personal claim date. There will be more guidance about the fourth grant in due course.