Self-Employed HMRC update

[Snorkelface]

HMRC has added a few updates for the self employed grant scheme.

www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

While HMRC will be contacting eligible claimants directly over the next couple of weeks with more specific details you can now see if you're eligible to claim and what date you'll be able to lodge your claim by using their on-line tool (about half way down their web page).

You'll need your UTR and NI number to do this and it will also give you the opportunity to set up your Gateway account if you don't already have one and to update your contact details. It's a good idea to set this up now as the website is likely to get very busy when it goes live on 13th May.

You can find both your UTR and NI number on your tax return. If you're setting up your Gateway at the same time you'll need to provide email/mobile details and you'll need to set up additional security measures to identify you using either security questions or drivers license details or your passport. The system can time out so it's a good idea to have all the details to hand.

I applied for a bounceback loan yesterday for DH company.
2.5%, 6 years, no repayments for first 12 months, capital capped at 25% of last turnover year
took 15 minutes
and its on its way

better than nothing

I know I've posted the link before but please sign this petition if you haven't already.

platform.organise.org.uk/campaigns/rishi-sunak-extend-self-employed-income-support

The company running the survey are Organise and they've already done a good job of getting the impending plight of the self employed into the press over the last few days, The Telegraph today and The Sun tomorrow and are using the survey and the quotes in it wherever they can. It's at 95,000 signatures, 100,000 is the number they really need so please do sign it and you can add your comments too (it's really quick and easy to do).

One other thing about Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak - both of them when interviewed, including today, have said straight away that the situation is still under review. Whether that's true who knows, but with the current filthy mood of the population after the I'madick Cummings fiasco I'd imagine pissing off 3.5 million people by not extending the scheme, even by a bit, may not seem wise. Because that's 3.5 million people who may tell them to sod off with their Track and Trace scheme because need to work, not isolate on demand. But who knows how they think.

Again, please sign the petition if you haven't already.

I think they will be extending it on a month by month basis and tomorrow they will announce that we will get a further payment for June.

You heard it here first

LaurieFairyCake - I've been thinking along the same lines, my concern today was that Boris seemed a little too familiar with the Bounce Back, tax deferral and UC options when questioned about it. It rolled off the tongue a bit too easily. They don't seem to understand that the first two are debt and the last one is pitiful if accessible at all.

And anybody worrying about how much its all costing .....

The furlough scheme has cost £22bn so far

Replacing trident is due to cost between £100bn and £200bn

perspective is useful

I applied Sunday - payment in bank today - so definitely can’t complain.

I cant see them paying out again in June, everyone got 12/13 weeks of whatever amount they was entitled too, this came 8 weeks into lockdown so technically already had June's money.

Snorkelface, I've signed the petition. But why does it ask who you work for?

It's just their survey template - they deal in workplace/employment issues so it's just there as standard - it's fine to just put 'Myself'

@Uhoh2020 the government have specifically said that the three months already paid relate to March, April and May.

Sorry if this has already been covered. There's a lot of posts to read 🙈

For the first two of the 3 years my husband was mainly employed but did a bit of self employed work on the side and made sure he declared it. Profits were 1000 each year.
Now the third year he become properly self employed and his profits were 14000 They've taken all 3 years into account and said on average he only earns £5000 a year so is only entitled to just over £1000.

This past tax year (not taken into account) he earnt 24000)

The grant is less than our universal credit payment but they're saying they can't review it until we accept it. I don't want to accept it if the reviews not going to work as we will lose the universal credits and be worse off.

But has anyone else had any luck with a similar review? I get that they're not going to take this last year into consideration but surely only the 14000 year should be counted as the other years were less than 50% of his income?

@bookgirl1982 but lockdown only came in force end of the march most people will of worked 3/4 of that month. However you look at it we got paid 12 weeks after only 8 weeks of lockdown

Uhoh - that's not how it's been calculated or applied. The government calculated this based on months, not weeks and clearly stated that it was to cover March/April/May - they weren't expecting to pay us as early as they did but they got the scheme up and running earlier than predicted. Also it's wrong to say that most people worked 3/4 of March, many people had already had all work cancelled in February, other people have had some work coming in throughout, others have spent money on jobs that are now being cancelled or equipment/stock they now have no use for. Everyone is different.

The government don't seem to be seeing it as a payment for March/April/May, as their response to what happens if the track and trace system forces a self-employed person to isolate is that they should use the grant for that, or universal credit (can you do that for random two week periods even?!) - but the track and trace system doesn't even start til pretty much June and onwards. I guess they are just seeing it as a one-off payment rather than replacing specific months' income.

So I suspect that there will be a lot of self-employed people who ignore the isolation requests and continue working. I think I would mostly be able to continue with some of my work if I had to isolate, but not all of it, and not if it happened repeatedly, but I know that there are others where it would be much more difficult to do so.

Even if/as lockdown eases and people can technically go back to work in the sense of using public transport, being permitted to spend time in a workplace etc, many self-employed people will still not have work to go back to. My DP as a public artist is basically fucked for the foreseeable future. His studio may reopen at some point soon, but that doesn't mean anything if there's no work for him to do.

Based on the commitment level required in the government's recruitment campaign for Test and Trace workers they're expecting the initial phase of the system to work into August - and possibly beyond. And there's nothing to stop people being contacted multiple times and being told to isolate. Twitter is quite busy with people pointing out the holes in the system for the self-employed, along with general demands from all sectors for an extensions to SEISS (and support for those who've had nothing at all) Join the fray - any final decisions about our current situation will most likely be made today.

Unicorn
Sadly your husband is in the trap faced by all new businesses.

Uhoh
My husband started getting cancellations from the day Italy locked down.

I think they will be extending it on a month by month basis and tomorrow they will announce that we will get a further payment for June.

You heard it here first *
*

^^ I was hopeful!

From the BBC website on today's briefing............

PM pledges to 'look after' those who cannot work

There's a second question from the public on help for those who cannot go into work during local lockdowns.

Boris Johnson says we'll be "hearing more" about support for the self-employed.

He also says employers can take advantage of the government's job retention scheme.

(The BBC added the quotation marks, not me!)

Could mean literally anything to be honest!

Thank you - I really appreciate all your updates

That was an intriguing comment about the self-employed by Boris today!

I've only earned peanuts for the last few weeks, but am going to put all my efforts into looking for more work soon, so then I'll really get a picture of what my likely earnings are going to be for the next few months. As I said before, a big part of the problem is the fact I'm spending so much time homeschooling the children in my normal work hours, and that looks set to continue until September.

It's likely Rishi that will be announcing it - so whenever he's next up

The details of changes to furlough were promised this week so I had assumed that Rishi would do that at the briefing tomorrow. But with parliament in recess I wonder if it will be next week instead.

We are hoping now some school years are going back that work will pick up for DP. He had a job last week for 3 days and they cancelled each day the day before. He didn't want to charge his cancellation fee but they really took the piss.

They originally said the announcement for furlough was this week and the self employed would be at the beginning of next month - which technically could mean Monday. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. We'll see............