Self Employed Income Support Scheme Changes
UPDATE 4th November 2020
To coincide with the changes to the CJRS and JSS , the SEISS (Self Employment Income Support Scheme) will be doubled back up to the previous amount of 80% of average trading profits for the entirety of November and the claims window for this brought forward from 14 December to 30 November.
As the SEISS grants are calculated every three months, the 80% of November as well as the 40% of both December and January will increase the total pay-out of the next grant to 55% of average trading profits, compared to the previous amount of 40%. However there will be a maximum on this, capped at £5,160.
In order to be eligible for the grant, you don’t need to have claimed previous grants, but you must have been previously eligible for the first two grants. Claimants must declare that they intend to continue trading, and have been either been a) actively trading but affected by the demand due to coronavirus or b) were trading previously but are currently temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.
Also, deadlines for the government backed loan schemes and the Future Fund have been extended further until 31 January 2021 which increases the level of support on offer to businesses.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘the rapidly changing health picture has meant we have had to act in order to protect people’s lives and I know this is an incredibly worrying time for the self-employed.
‘That is why we have increased the generosity of the third grant, ensuring those who cannot trade or are facing decreased demand are able to get through the months ahead.’
The second grant after the one spanning from 1 November to 31 January will cover from 1 February to 30 April and the government will review and confirm the amount of this second grant in due course, as it will be heavily affected by the contemporaneous state of the economy and the pandemic at that point.
In order to claim for the grant, the online service for applying will be available from 30 November 2020. HMRC will provide all the details about claiming and applications in guidance on GOV.UK in the course of time.
