Fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant opens for claims in July
11/06/21
The fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant covering May to September 2021 opens for claims in July. This article sets out who can claim, how this fifth grant differs from the previous ones and when you can claim.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was introduced at the start of the pandemic to support self-employed individuals.
HMRC has announced that the fifth grant covering May to September 2021 will open for claims in late July 2021. The grant will be paid out in a single instalment and is taxable.
Who can claim?
- To be eligible, you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.
- You must have traded in the tax years 2019/2020 (and submitted your tax return before 2 March 2021) and 2020/2021.
- You must either:
- be trading currently but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronaviru
- have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
Tax returns
To work out if you are eligible for the fifth grant, HMRC will look at your 2019/2020 self-assessment tax return before previous tax year’s. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income.
If you are not eligible based on your 2019/2020 tax return, HMRC will look at the tax years 2016/2017, 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.
Deciding if you can claim
To make a claim, you have to declare that:
- you intend to continue to trade, and
- that you reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity or demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus from May 2021 to September 2021
You are required to keep evidence of how the pandemic has adversely impacted your business, resulting in a significant reduction in business activity that would normally be expected otherwise. HMRC expects you to make an honest assessment about whether you reasonably believe your business will have a significant reduction in profits.
How does the fifth grant differ from previous grants?
The amount of the grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021. More information will be available at the end of June to help you work out how your turnover has been affected.
How will you get?
The table below sets out how much you will get:
| Turnover reduction | How much you’ll get | Maximum grant |
| 30% or more | 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits | £7,500 |
| Less than 30% | 30% of 3 months’ average trading profits | £2,850 |
When can you claim?
You can claim online for the fifth grant from late July 2021. If you are eligible based on your tax returns, HMRC will contact you in mid-July to give you a date when you can claim.
You can find out more information about the Fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant here.
If you have any queries in relation to SEISS grants or any other Covid-19 support package, please contact us.
Warning: The above is merely general guidance and should not be relied upon as formal advice. The advice we give to each client will depend on their specific circumstances. We suggest you take professional advice before taking any action in relation to the issues discussed above.
