HM Revenue & Customs have announced details of a fifth income support grant for the self-employed.
The grant, covering May 2021 to September 2021, will be open to claims from late-July. As previously, the grant is taxable and will be paid in a single instalment.
Eligibility
You must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.
You must have traded in the tax years:
- 2019 to 2020 and submitted your tax return on or before 2nd March 2021
- 2020 to 2021
You must either:
- be currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
- have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
To work out your eligibility for the fifth grant, your 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax return will be looked at. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income.
If you’re not eligible based on your 2019 to 2020 tax return, the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 will be looked at.
You must declare that:
- you intend to continue to trade
- you reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus from May 2021 to September 2021
How the fifth grant if different
The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021.
How much you’ll get:
- reduction of 30% or more – you’ll get 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits (max. £7,500)
- reduction of less than 30% – you’ll get 30% of 3 months’ trading profits (max. £2,850)
When you can claim
Guidance for claiming the grant will be available by the end of June 2021.
The online claims service for the fifth grant will be available from late-July 2021.
If you’re eligible based on your tax returns, HMRC will contact you in mid-July 2021 to give you a date that you can make your claim from.
If you have any thoughts on the fifth grant or other aspects of coronavirus support please let us know by calling 01772 653000 or emailing geoffm@lancschamber.co.uk.
