The Chancellor announced that, in conjunction with the furlough scheme continuing until 30 September 2021, the support for the self-employed would also be extended to that date. Many equestrian businesses have been affected by coronavirus and have been claiming through the SEISS scheme for the last 12 months.
To date, there have been three SEISS grants available to claim, with the latest having a claim deadline date of 29 January 2021.
The budget set out the requirements to claim the two final grants, the fourth and the fifth grants.
The fourth grant will cover the period February – April 2021 and will be available to claim in late April/early May, the fifth grant will cover the period May – September 2021 and be available to claim from late July.
In order to make a claim for the fourth grant you must have:
- Submitted a 2019/20 self-assessment tax return
- Be either:
- currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
- have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
- You must also:
- intend to continue to trade
- reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits for the relevant period
- Your trading profits must be below £50,000 and at least equal to your non trading income.
The main change is that the newly self-employed will now be eligible to claim the fourth grant whereas they have not previously been entitled. This will allow qualifying new businesses and new partners joining existing partnerships to claim their first SEISS payment.
The Government has introduced a new, additional, criteria for the fifth grant. The value of the grant will be determined by a turnover test, to ensure that support is targeted at those who have been impacted the most by the pandemic.
Individuals whose turnover has fallen by 30% or more will continue to receive the full grant amounting to 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500. Individuals whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a 30% grant, capped at £2,850.
Therefore, if you began your self-employment in 2019/20 you may be eligible for either, or both of the final SEISS grants. As with the previous grants the taxpayer is responsible for making the claim through their government gateway online account.
All grants received are taxable to income tax and national insurance based on the date of receipt. Therefore, if you have made any claims under SEISS to date these will need to be reported on your self-assessment tax return in 2020/21.
If you would like any help or support on SEISS or any other matters, please contact Lucie Hammond at lucie.hammond@hazlewoods.co.uk or 01242 680000.