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SEISS Grant Portal
opens for third round of claims.
SEISS - which stands for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme - is an emergency scheme intended to help millions of self-employed people during the coronavirus pandemic. The claims process for the third grant opened this week, however there are new rules when it comes to the criteria.
Read below to find out more....
The online service for the third SEISS grant opened at the start of this week, with those eligible now able to make a claim.
There is a deadline for doing this, meaning those wishing to claim the emergency support must do so on or before 29th January 2021.
The third taxable grant covers the period of 1st November, 2020 to 29th January 2021.
It is worth 80 percent of the person's average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months' worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.
This is the third grant available, BUT this time around, there have been changes when it comes to the rules.
Eligibility criteria remains exactly the same to the first and second grants, however, there has been a change in the declaration people must make.
The big difference this time around is what you have to declare when you sign up.
The first thing you will need to do when you go into the declaration is check if you're eligible, then you will need to declare that you've had a significant trading profits reduction in the current tax year due to covid.
This is a reduction from November 1st, through to the end of January, when this period for the grant ends.
If you are unsure, then the government is suggesting that self-employed people should put off making the declaration, and instead wait until they have a "reasonable belief", but you must of course still apply prior to the deadline in January.
The government are also asking people to keep evidence to show the impact on their business, as this may be required at a later date.
The government website states: "In order to claim, you must reasonably believe that you will suffer a significant reduction in trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity or demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus during the period 1st November to 29th January 2021".
You must keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.
You must have a trading profit reduction and be able to be quite specific about what has caused that reduction?
It must be either due to lower demand, activity or capacity.
Examples of this are; fewer customers, cancelled contracts that you haven't replaced, or issues with the supply chain. Or that you have temporarily been unable to trade - so that could be due to government restrictions or lockdowns, because you've been instructed to shield or self-isolate.
Instructions to shield or self-isolate due to returning from abroad wouldn't count.
You can also claim if you are self-employed and have parental or caring responsibilities for example your children's school has been closed so you've been unable to go and trade because of that. These would all be legitimate reasons.
As with previous grants, claimants have to make claim themselves; agents cannot get involved in the claim process, but please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you wish to discuss anything further.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is intended to be a guide and is not intended to be exhaustive. No action should be taken on the basis of information contained herein without obtaining the necessary advice. No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damages occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material contained herein.
