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Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is open for claims

April 14, 2021

As the fourth Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is due to open for claims, HMRC has confirmed that it will be contacting eligible self employed individuals based on their tax returns in mid-April to give a date for making applications.

Communications will be sent either by email, letter or within the online service.


The online service to claim the fourth grant will be available from late April 2021.


All claims must be made on or before 1 June 2021.


Claims must be made by the individual and cannot be processed by a tax agent or adviser to claim on your behalf as this will trigger a fraud alert, which will delay payment.


To be eligible for the fourth grant you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. Grants are not available if you trade through a limited company or a trust. Trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to or more than your non-trading income.


Capped at £7,500 the fourth grant will be set at 80% of three months’ average trading profits. There will also be a fifth grant covering May to September 2021 and will take the individual’s trading position for 2020/2021.


The fifth grant will be worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500, for those with a turnover reduction of 30% or more; or 30% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £2,850, for those with a turnover reduction of less than 30%.


There is no requirement that an earlier SEISS grant has been claimed in order to be able to claim the upcoming fourth grant.

To make a claim, applicants will need the following:

  • Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR);
  • National Insurance number;
  • Government Gateway user ID and password; and
  • UK bank details including account number, sort code, name on the account and address linked to the account.

Only provide bank account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted.


HMRC will check claims and take appropriate action to withhold or recover payments found to be dishonest or inaccurate with a penalty system in place.


If an amendment to a tax return on or after the 3 March 2021 lowers the amount you are eligible for, HMRC must be informed within 90 days.


For self employed people currently trading but have reduced demand, keep any evidence that your business has had reduced activity, capacity or demand due to coronavirus at the time you made your claim, such as business accounts showing reduction in activity compared to previous years, records of reduced or cancelled contracts or appointments, and a record of dates where you had reduced demand or capacity due to government restrictions.


September 17, 2024
The move to Making Tax Digital for income tax from 2026 will cost sole traders and landlords on average £350 to set up the correct reporting system. HMRC estimates that the new MTD rules will result in an average annual additional cost of £110 for those reporting within the £30,000 to £50,000 threshold, while those with income over £50,000 will face transitional costs of £285, with ongoing costs of £115 a year. Up to 780,000 people with business or property income over £50,000 will have to report through the MTD for ITSA service from April 2026 with a further 970,000 set to sign up from April 2027 when the scheme extends to those with income between £30,000 and £50,000. Under MTD for income tax, landlords and sole traders will have to report income on a quarterly basis but the government dropped the requirement for a fifth report consolidating the annual information, a move announced at the Autumn Statement last November. The extension of MTD is set to raise an additional £120m in tax in the first year of operation, rising to £465m in 2027-28. The new reporting requirements are designed to reduce the level of errors and help to close the tax gap when they come into force from April 2026. HMRC estimates a transitional cost to business of around £561m and a net increase in the continuing costs of tax compliance of around £196m for those businesses mandated to use MTD for ITSA. Transitional one-off costs will include time spent in familiarisation with the new MTD reporting with digital record keeping and quarterly submission of information, in-house training, the purchase of new hardware or upgrading of existing hardware and additional accountancy or agents' costs. Transitional costs can be offset against the business' profits for tax purposes. Ongoing costs for business will be made up of the cost of subscriptions to MTD compatible software systems, additional time for making quarterly updates, and the cost of bridging software for those who want to continue using spreadsheets. Software and agent costs for business purposes, are tax deductible. HMRC estimates IT and non-IT costs for this next phase of MTD expansion will be in the region of £500m to the end of March 2028. 'MTD for ITSA is intended to help businesses get their tax right, with mandatory use of digital record keeping and using MTD compatible software to provide updates and returns digitally,' HMRC said. 'These measures are expected to improve businesses' experience of dealing with HMRC as managing their tax affairs will be simpler. Once businesses are used to operating the new MTD processes, we anticipate that they will find that MTD makes it easier for them to get things right and reduce errors.' At the moment, original plans to extend MTD for ITSA to those with income below £30,000 are on hold, while HMRC said it ‘remains committed’ to extending the scheme to partnerships. To be fully compliant and set up, please get in touch: lee@longdencompany.co.uk .
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