The Self Employed Income Support Scheme is coming!

Updated 7th May 2020

HMRC have started to contact the Self Employed who may be eligible for the Self Employed Income Support Scheme. The scheme enables those that qualify to a taxable grant of up to £7,500, and the online service for claims will be available from 13th May 2020.

HMRC have updated their guidance around the eligibility for the scheme, how to make a claim and how the calculation will work. We would recommend that if you’re self employed that you have a good read through this as there are some hurdles to clear.

We cannot make the claim for you, so suggest you start the process now to avoid any delays later!

As a reminder:

• This will be a taxable grant, calculated at 80% of the average monthly profits shown on your tax returns for the last three years, up to £2,500 per month. Any self employed person who makes the majority of their income from Self Employment is eligible.
• The amount of the grant received will need to be included on your tax return for the year ended 5th April 2021, and will be included in your tax computation.
• The scheme is open to any self employed worker, with profits of up to £50,000. If you declared average profits over those three years in excess of £50,000, you will not be entitled to the support.
• The initial period for the scheme will be three months, but this may be extended, as with the other types of support that have been announced.

Claims will be processed and paid within six working days which could be as early as 25th May 2020, significantly earlier than ‘mid June’ which was the initial expectation.

STEP 1 – Check whether you are eligible to claim.

• You’ll need your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You can find this on any correspondence from HMRC, or pop us an email over and we’ll let you know what it is.
• You’ll also need your National Insurance number.
• Follow this link to complete the HMRC eligibility tool.
• Once you’ve been through this process, you’ll be given a date on which you can make your claim. HMRC will remind you of that date, but we’d recommend you set up your own reminder too, just in case!

As part of this process you can create a Government Gateway user ID and password. You will need this when it comes to make your claim. They are usually sent through the post but on 7th May 2020, HMRC announced that ‘there will be no requirement for customers to wait for pins or codes through the post’. At this stage, we are only able to assume that they will be provided as part of the eligibility process if not already held.

Step 2 – Check how much can you claim.

You can check the amount that HMRC will let you claim using their online calculator. HMRC have an animated video to guide you through the process.

Step 3 – Make your Claim.

HMRC will tell you when you can claim once you complete the eligibility check process. The randomly assigned date they give you will be between the 13th and 18th May 2020. At this point you will need the following information to hand:

• Your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR). You can find this on any correspondence from HMRC, or pop us an email over and we’ll let you know what it is.
• You’ll also need your National Insurance number.
• Your Government Gateway user ID and password, as mentioned above.
• The bank account details you want HMRC to send the payment to.

You will also need to confirm that your business has been affected by Coronavirus, and may need to prove the fact.

You will be told straight away whether your claim has been approved and payment will come out to you within six working days.

Step 4 – Keep the right records.

You MUST keep copies of all records:

1. The amount claimed.
2. The claim reference number.
3. Evidence that you have been adversely affected by Coronavirus.

We will of course need details of your claim for your Tax Return for next year!

As ever, though we can’t claim on your behalf, we’re very happy to help with the process if you need us to, so do get in touch if you get stuck!

SCAM WARNING! HMRC are going to be sending emails and texts about this scheme, but legitimate messages from them WILL NOT ask you to follow a link OR provide any personal details. Please be careful!

Suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC should be reported to them by sending them to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. Texts should be sent to 60599.