The fifth and final SEISS grant for self employed individuals will be opening from late July. Here are some key updates for you to know if you are eligible for the SEISS grant payments.
Personal claim dates
The government will be contacting everyone who is eligible for the fifth SEISS grant in the next few days. They will inform you of your personal claim date, which you can then claim from this date up until when the claims service closes on 30 September 2021. Any claims that are made before your personal claim date will not be processed.
Preparing your turnover figures
The majority of individuals that will be claiming the fifth SEISS grant will need to provide turnover figures in order to make a claim. These figures will be used to compare the ‘pandemic year’ with a ‘reference period’.
Details instructions on how to prepare your 12-month period turnover can be found here.
Claiming the fifth SEISS grant
It is important that you claim the grant yourselves. However, we can assist you with any questions you may have about the process. You must not share any login information with us, and we are not allowed to make a claim on your behalf.
Why and when you will be contacted for SEISS grants
- Customers who became newly self-employed in 2019-20 may receive a letter asking for proof of identity and trade information via Dropbox. As part of these pre-claim verification checks, you may receive a phone call too. You will not be able to make a claim if they do not provide the requested information.
- If you have claimed SEISS before, you should have already received an email containing instructions on how to prepare for your final claim. Practical advice was also included.
- Everyone who may be eligible for the fifth SEISS grant will soon receive an email, letter or SMS with their personal claim date and instructions on how to access the claims service via GOV.UK from late July. These do not include hyperlinks.
- A small number of people will receive a letter asking them to call the HMRC if they want to make their claim. The online service will not be open for these customers, so you must call us using the number in the letter. This is different to the pre-claim verification checks.
Be aware of scams
We are aware of a number of SEISS-related scams. If you doubt whether contact is from HMRC, please search ‘check a list of genuine HMRC contacts’ on GOV.UK.
Changes to the CJRS from August
From 1 August to 30 September (when the scheme closes), the UK Government will pay 60% of employees’ usual wages for hours not worked, up to a cap of £1,875 per month. Employers will need to continue to pay the difference, so that they pay furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages in total for the hours they do not work, up to a cap of £2,500 a month.
If you’re not sure how these changes will impact your business, get in touch with the Turas Accountants team and we can help you with it.