Self-employed workers must wait until APRIL to claim fourth vital SEISS grant
Updated: Mar 7, 2021
Self-employed workers will have to wait until April to claim their fourth vital support grant according to HMRC sources.
Details of the much anticipated fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant was released by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak at yesterday‘s Budget.
The UK Government will provide self-employed workers 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 much anticipated 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.
According to HMRC sources, 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, workers will need to make an honest assessment that there has been a significant reduction in trading profits due to reduced demand or their inability to trade. If a worker wished to make a claim, they will need to keep appropriate records as evidence.
HMRC will contact potential self-employed claimants from mid-April if they believe they may be eligible for the fourth SEISS grant to tell them how they can claim. Workers will be provided with their own personal claim date, which will be the earliest date they 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 of the claimant’s 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.
