Self-Employed Claim a Cash Grant through SEISS

30 April 2020

The online service to claim under the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is not available yet. HMRC will contact you by mid-May 2020 and will make lump sum payments by early June 2020.

HMRC will use data on the 2018-19 tax returns already submitted to identify those persons eligible for the grant and will review any late returns filed before the 23 April 2020 deadline.

If you are eligible for the scheme, HMRC will invite you to claim using the GOV.UK online service. If you are unable to claim online an alternative secure way to claim will be available.

You do not need to contact HMRC.

You will only be able to claim using the GOV.UK online service. If you receive texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC, offering financial help or a tax refund and asking you to click on a link or to give personal information, it is a scam.

How much you will get

The grant is worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month and will be available for 3 months but may be extended. This cash grant is taxable and will be counted as self-employed income when it comes time to complete your Self Assessed Tax Return.

The grant will be subject to Income Tax and National Insurance contributions but does not need to be repaid.

The amount you will receive is based on your average trading profit over the most recent three tax years:

2016 to 2017
2017 to 2018
2018 to 2019

To work out the average trading profit HMRC will add together your total trading profits or losses for the 3 tax years then divide by 3.

If you have not submitted Self Assessment Tax Returns for all 3 years

HMRC will work out your average trading profit based on continuous periods of self-employment, which will be either:

the tax years 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019
the tax year 2018 to 2019 only, even if you were self-employed in the tax year 2016 to 2017

The grant will be 80% of your average trading profit, divided by 12 which will give a monthly amount. HMRC will pay this or up to a maximum of £2,500 a month, whichever is lower.

HMRC will pay the grant directly into your bank account, in one instalment.

Who is eligible for SEISS

You can claim if you are a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:

have submitted your Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018 to 2019
traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
are trading when you apply, or would be except for coronavirus
intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
have lost trading profits due to coronavirus

Your self-employed trading profits must also be no more than £50,000 and more than half of your total income for either:

the tax year 2018 to 2019
the average of the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019

If you have loans covered by the loan charge

If you’re self-employed and have received payment for work or services in the form of a loan or other form of credit covered by the loan charge, you may be still be eligible to claim the grant,

If you’re a farmer claiming farmers’ averaging relief
If you’re a self-employed farmer claiming farmers’ averaging relief HMRC will use the amount of profit before the impact of the averaging claims to work out your eligibility and the amount you will receive.

After you’ve claimed

Once HMRC has received your claim and your grant is approved, HMRC will contact you to tell you how much you will get and the payment details.

Other help you can get

Meanwhile, as a self-employed person who has lost income due to coronavirus, you can make a claim for Universal Credit while you wait for the grant. Please note that any grant received will be treated as part of your self-employment income and may affect the amount of Universal Credit you get. Any Universal Credit claims for earlier periods will not be affected.

If you receive the grant you can continue to work or take on other employment including voluntary work.

If you have other employment as a director or employee which is paid through PAYE your employer may be able to get support using the Job Retention Scheme.