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Check if you can claim a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Thursday 7th January, 2021

If you’re self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been impacted by coronavirus (COVID-19) find out if you can use this scheme to claim a grant.

The scheme has been extended. If you were not eligible for the first and second grant based on the information in your Self Assessment tax returns, you will not be eligible for the third.

HMRC expects you to make an honest assessment about whether you reasonably believe your business will have a significant reduction in profits.

To make a claim for the third grant your business must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 November 2020 and 29 January 2021, which you reasonably believe will have a significant reduction in your profits.

The third taxable grant is worth 80% of your average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.

The online service to claim the third grant is open. Make your claim from the date we give you either by email, letter or within the service. If you’re eligible, you must make your claim for the third grant on or before 29 January 2021.

The grant does not need to be repaid if you’re eligible, but will be subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance and must be reported on your 2020 to 2021 Self Assessment tax return.

You must keep evidence to support your claim.

Grants under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme are not counted as ‘access to public funds’, and you can claim the grant on all categories of work visa.

You can follow these steps to help you understand what you can do now.

  1. Find out who can claim.
  2. Check that your business has been impacted by coronavirus.
  3. Find out how HMRC works out your grant.
  4. Make your claim.
  5. Find out what happens after you’ve claimed.

How to claim

The online service for the third grant is available.

You must make your claim on or before 29 January 2021.

You should contact HMRC if you receive any suspicious texts, calls or emails claiming to be from HMRC as this may be a scam.

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