The army of self-employed people who have been negatively impacted by coronavirus have one week left to apply for the first instalment of the government grant worth up to £7,500.
The government’s Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened to applicants in mid-May.
It allows those eligible to receive a taxable grant worth 80% of average monthly profits based on the last three years of tax returns, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, so £7,500 in total.
This first grant can be claimed up until Monday 13 July.
A second and final grant will be available from August (business adversely affected on or after 14 July 2020), worth 70% of people’s average monthly trading profits, capped at £6,570 in total.
You can make a claim for the second grant even if you don’t make a claim for the first grant.
Latest statistics reveal claims made by self-employed workers who are struggling during the pandemic stand at 2.6 million. The total value of claims made under the grant scheme is £7.7bn.
Are you eligible for the Self-employment Income Support Scheme?
You can apply for a grant if your business has been adversely affected by coronavirus and you filed a self-assessment tax return for 2018/19.
You must earn at least half of your income through self-employment and have trading profits of no more than £50,000 a year.
If you’re not eligible based on your 2018/2019 tax return, HMRC will look at the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019.
You should have been contacted by HMRC if you’re eligible for the scheme. But if you haven’t heard from HMRC, you can find out if you’re eligible using this online tool.
Discussion about this post