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.

Well thats odd, not in my Spam or Junk Dontrain.. I got the 1st and 2nd grants, and have had various emails self employment related since, but nothing re the 3rd grant!

I received an email on 26 November - it didn't say much, just to check if I could claim. It was titled 'More help for the self-employed affected by Covid 19'.

Ah thanks Snorkelface, so not an email with a claim date like before then..
Did you claim via the 'check if i can claim' route, or go straight to your gateway to do it?

I claimed from here.............

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

Click on the big green 'Start Now' button half way down the page. It'll want your UTR and NI number as before. Mine sends a code to my phone for the Gateway access bit so have your phone to hand. Bank details were already in the system from last time and didn't need re-entering. It took a few days for the processing email to appear in my inbox, previously it was straight away.

Thank you Snorkelface I will gather my evidence and relevant dates first, just to be on the safe side!

I received a email that said 3rd grant available soon, no date to apply but then this popped up and so I applied. The following day I received a email saying my claim was being processed then the next day the money was in my bank.

Sorry to reignite the thread but wondering if anyone applied for the Top Up of the bounce back loan and what their experiences have been? I got the first loan deposited in my account less than 24 hours after applying. The top up... not so much. I had expected it to be just as simple and quick but have heard nothing back and am nervous now.

Sorry can't help with the loans.

Martin Lewis said last night that the details of the fourth grant will not be published until the budget in early March.

Just a reminder that there's only a couple of days left for anyone wanting to claim the third grant. Anyone who was worried about the change in wording in the qualifying criteria should have no problems ascertaining whether they qualify by now.

As @bookgirl1982 says above, details about the fourth grant, covering February to April, are not going to be made available until the 3rd March alongside The Budget This is unhelpful in so many ways to so many people. So presume nothing. There has been no confirmation about the amount, the qualifying criteria or which years any calculation will be based on However parity was promised and with furlough continuing until April at the same rate as before hopefully the grant will follow suit. Oh, but we are still missing any support for September and October last year so parity seems open to interpretation by the government. There's always a chance they'll announce some details sooner.

However the delay in announcing details about the fourth grant may be due to positive changes being put in place to allow some of those left behind to now qualify for the grant with the 19/20 tax return being included for the first time. Fingers crossed for anyone who is still waiting for some kind of support and has so far missed out. The delay in making the fourth grant available also throws up the question of which tax year the fourth grant will fall in to which is worth keeping in mind if it's left up to those applying for it to decide and may be beneficial for some in terms of future cashflow.

In the meantime remember to check with your council, especially if you're in the hospitality sector, to see if you can qualify for an Additional Restrictions Grant. The government has given councils powers over how to distribute these grants and who qualifies for them but time is running out on these too so just google Additional Restriction Grant and the name of your council for the quickest way to find out more and your council's application process.

And @Bimbleboo, sorry I don't know anyone who's applied for the top up on the BBL but come back and update what happened.

Just a little update - Martin Lewis has hinted on This Morning that he has some more information on the 4th Grant which he will be discussing on his show tonight on ITV tonight at 8.30. It sounds like it's going to be about the tax return years that will be included which is sounding more and more like it will included 19/20. We'll see.........

Thank you for the update - fingers crossed for March 3rd then.

Furlough extended - I hope we follow suit.

Some more details of the fourth grant coming available tonight. Seems to be based on average profits over last four tax returns, rather than previous three. Full details of eligibility to be published later.

I may be wrong but haven’t they already released the details? I was under the impression that more people will be eligible (those more recently self employed) and that it will be 80% based on four years inc 19/20 tax accounts. And that we can’t apply until next month. Which threw me a bit as I for some reason expected we would be able to apply pretty much once it was announced. Ie this month. But apparently not.

Just received an email from HMRC with the following details..........

"The UK Government has today announced that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September with a fourth and fifth grant. We will contact customers who may be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant from mid-April to tell them how they can claim.

The fourth and fifth grants will take into account 2019 to 2020 tax returns and will also be open to those who became self-employed in the 2019 to 2020 tax year. This means that some customers may be able to claim, even if they were not eligible for previous grants.

To qualify, you must have filed your 2019-20 Self Assessment tax return by 2 March 2021, at the latest.

Fourth SEISS grant

The UK Government will pay a taxable grant which is calculated based on 80% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single payment and capped at £7,500 in total. The value of the grant is based on an average of your trading profits for up to four tax years between 2016 to 2020, where available.

The grant will be available to claim by late April. As with previous grants, trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to non-trading income in order to claim the fourth SEISS grant.

Eligibility for the fourth SEISS grant will depend on whether you experienced a significant financial impact from coronavirus between February 2021 and April 2021.

HMRC will take into account your 2019-20 return when assessing your eligibility for the scheme. This may also affect the amount of the fourth grant, which could be higher or lower than previous grants you have received.

For this period, you will need to make an honest assessment that there has been a significant reduction in trading profits due to reduced demand or your inability to trade. If you make a claim, you will need to keep appropriate records as evidence.

For further details of the changes to eligibility and calculation of the grant, please visit GOV.UK and search 'Self-Employment Income Support Scheme'.

What happens next

HMRC will contact you from mid-April if we believe you may be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant to tell you how you can claim. You will be provided with your personal claim date, which will be the earliest date you can submit a claim for the fourth SEISS grant.

Claims for the fourth SEISS grant must be made by 31 May 2021, at the latest.

The UK Government has also announced that there will be a fifth and final SEISS grant, covering the period between May and September, which you will be able to claim from late July if you are eligible.

The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced. The grant will be worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500, for those with a higher reduction in turnover (30% or more). For those with a lower reduction in turnover, of less than 30%, the grant will be worth 30% of three months’ average trading profits.

Further details will be provided on the fifth grant in due course."

..........So the other thing to remember here is that these two grants will fall into the 21/22 tax year, which will be helpful to some people tax bill/cash flow wise.

Also the 30% reduction the 5th grant refers to is a 30% reduction in turnover not trading profits.The grant calculation itself is still based on trading profits as before.

There's no pretending this is the same level of support as furlough. Technically those who will have needed to and been eligible to claim all five grants will be missing support for September and October last year and two months this year as the 5th grant covers five months rather than three but if could have been a lot worse.

No mention of a delayed July tax payment again this year is there?

No @Nailingthis, not yet anyway. They're being a little coy with the details at the moment though, I presume they're waiting to see if the lifting of lockdown measures is really possible in the time frame they've set out. And they also haven't given full enough details of the 5th grant for a lot of people to know which percentage they'll qualify for, if at all.

Dates now available for the next claim window via the HMRC portal.

@bookgirl1982 oh nothing seems available when I try to look this up? No specific dates or anything.

If you log in here it will give your date

www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference

@bookgirl1982 oh yes! That did work for me too. Thanks very much. That was kind of you xx

Below is the 4th grant email HMRC are sending out - just received. Claims begin on the 22nd April, the first date I can claim is the 26th April. There's reportedly an additional 600,000 people who will qualify for this grant, the first grant they've been able to claim (and about feckin' time) If you are one of those people there's tons of info on this thread or ask a question. HMRC generally contacts people about the grant by email or post but sometimes it doesn't happen so here's what the 4th grant email looks like.

"Dear customer,

Our records indicate that you may be eligible for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant.

If eligible, you can claim from (it'll give you a specific date here) – this is your personal claim date. You can apply anytime from then until 1 June.

Please do not attempt to apply before your personal claim date as the service will not be available to you. Our helplines will be unable to process your claim.

To apply, you’ll need to reasonably believe there is a significant reduction in your trading profits due to coronavirus between February 2021 and April 2021, and that you intend to continue to trade.

If you claim, you must also keep appropriate records as evidence of the impact on your business.

Eligibility and calculation of the grant

For full details of eligibility criteria, and how the grant is calculated, please visit GOV.UK and search 'Self-Employment Income Support Scheme' or SEISS.

How to claim

Make sure to claim on or after your personal claim date.

Claiming online is the quickest and easiest way to get your grant, as it only takes about five minutes. Search for 'Self-Employment Income Support Scheme' on GOV.UK.

To confirm your eligibility and make your claim, you’ll need your:

National Insurance number: If you don’t know this: go to the HMRC app, your online Personal Tax Account (PTA) or ask your tax agent (if you have one).
Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number: You can find this on your Self Assessment papers, in your PTA or by asking your tax agent.
Government Gateway user ID and password: To avoid delays, please check that you can log in to the Government Gateway before your personal claim date. If you don’t have an account, or have forgotten your details, follow the instructions on GOV.UK by searching 'HMRC services: sign in or register'. Please also check your contact details are correct in your Government Gateway account.
Your bank account number and sort code: For a building society account, please include the roll number, if you have one.
We will also ask for the address that your bank or building society account is registered to. Please note this is your address – most likely your home or business premises – not the address of your bank or building society.

If you haven’t claimed before

Claiming online is quick and easy. If this is your first time claiming a SEISS grant, you may be asked additional questions to prove your identity.

Questions could relate to any of the following:

your UK passport
information held on your credit file (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages)
your Self Assessment tax return (within the last three years)
your tax credit claim
your P60
one of your three most recent payslips.
Please have this information ready when making your claim. Your claim may be delayed if you cannot answer the identity verification questions.

After you have submitted your claim

Once you have completed your claim, we will undertake checks to verify it. We’ll pay the money directly into your bank account within six working days of receiving your claim.

You must keep appropriate records as evidence of the impact on your business.

Support with your claim

It’s important that you make the claim yourself, although you can ask a friend, family member, accountant or tax agent to help you. Please don’t allow anyone to make a claim on your behalf – including your accountant or tax agent – as this could lead to delays in your payment.

Visit GOV.UK for the most up-to-date information about the SEISS. Please only call us if you cannot find the support you need on GOV.UK or our webchat service – this will leave our lines open for those who need our help most.

A word about scams

We are aware of an increase in scam emails, calls and texts. If someone gets in touch claiming to be from HMRC, saying that financial help can be claimed or that a tax refund is owed, and asks you to click on a link or to give information such as your name, credit card or bank details, please do not respond.

You can forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to [email protected] and texts to 60599. Search 'Check a list of genuine HMRC contacts' on GOV.UK.

Access the National Cyber Security Centre’s new guide on how to stay secure online and protect yourself or your business against cybercrime by searching 'Cyber Aware'.

Yours faithfully
Jim Harra
Chief Executive and First Permanent Secretary – HMRC"

Don't worry if you don't get an email or letter, just use the link @bookgirl1982 posted above to find your date........

www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference

Also full details for the 5th grant have not been announced yet so don't presume it's going to be the same, there's eligibility details up in the air as well as the amount that will be payable. Fingers crossed for everyone.

My husband can claim from 22nd, it's about bloody time!

Hooray! @vjg13

Applied this morning. Noticed that it said ten working days after it’s been reviewed and approved this time.
I’m sure it was three working days every other time and didn’t mention much about it being reviewed. Could be wrong mind you.