The claims service for the fifth SEISS grant will open from late July. The grant covers lost or reduced earnings from May to September 2021, offering up to 80% of trading profits or £7,500 over three months.
HMRC states that you should only claim the fifth grant if you think your business profit will be impacted by coronavirus between 1 May and 30 September 2021.
If you claim, you must keep appropriate records as evidence of the impact on your business.
HMRC will be contacting every customer this week who may be eligible for the fifth grant, to tell them their personal claim date. Eligible individuals can claim from this date up until the claims service closes on 30 September 2021, Claims made before your personal claim date will not be processed,
As has been the case in the past, it's important to note that individuals claim the grant themselves.
HMRC will be contacting those eligible in different ways, depending on their circumstances: -
Individuals who became newly self-employed in 2019-20 may receive a letter asking for proof of identity and trade information via Dropbox. As part of these pre-claim verification checks, HMRC will call the claimant too. They will not be able to make a claim if they do not provide the requested information.
HMRC has already emailed claimants who have claimed SEISS before, with instructions on how to prepare for their claim.
All customers who may be eligible for the fifth SEISS grant will soon receive an email, letter or SMS with their personal claim date and instructions on how to access the claims service via GOV.UK from late July.
A small number of claimants will receive a letter asking them to call HMRC if they want to make their claim. The online service will not be open to these claimants, so they must call using the number in the letter they receive. This is different to the pre-claim verification checks.
Turnover
Individuals whose turnover has fallen by 30% or more will continue to receive the full grant worth 80% of three months' average trading profits, capped at £7,500.
Claimants whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a 30% grant capped at £2,850.
Turnover includes the takings, fees, sales or money earned by the self-employed claimant's business.
Anyone choosing to make a claim, will need their turnover figures for: -
A pre-covid year, that represents normal trading. This should be 2019-20 or 2018-19;
Their 2020-21 trading year.
How the grant is treated
The grant is subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance Contributions. It must be reported on your 2021/22 Self Assessment tax return.
The grant also counts towards your annual allowance for pension contributions. SEISS grants are not counted as "access to public funds" and you are able to claim the grant on all categories of work visa.
Who can claim?
You can find out if your eligible to claim for a SEISS grant by checking you meet all criteria in stages 1, 2 and 3.
Stage 1: Your trading status when you must have traded
You must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.
You must have traded in both tax years: -
2019 to 2020;
2020 to 2021.
You cannot claim the grant if you trade through a limited company or a trust.
Stage 2: Tax returns and trading profits
You must have: -
Submitted your 2019/20 tax return on or before 2 March 2021;
Trading profits of no more than £50,000;
Trading profits at least equal to your non-trading income.
Non-trading income is any money that you make outside of your business, for example if you have a part time job or a pension.
If your not eligible based on trading profits in your 2019/20 return, HMRC will look back at previous years.
Stage 3: Deciding if you can claim
When you make your claim, you must tell HMRC that: -
You intend to keep trading in 2021/22;
Reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to the impact of COVID-19 between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021.