Fifth SEISS Grant – what we know so far

There will be a fifth SEISS grant which will cover the period May 2021 to September 2021.  The guidance for claiming the grant should be available at the beginning of July but so far we know that it will be open for claims from late July.  It will be paid out as a single lump sum and will be taxable and subject to Class 4 NI.

To be eligible for the grant you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership.

You must have traded in the tax years:

• 2019/20 and submitted your Tax Return 2021 on or before 2 March 2021
• 2020/21

You must either:

• be currently trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
• have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus

To work out your eligibility for the fifth grant, your Tax Return 2020 will be looked at first. Your trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income.

If you’re not eligible based on your Tax Return 2020, HMRC will then look at the tax years 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20.

You must declare that:

• you intend to continue to trade
• you reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus from May 2021 to September 2021

You must keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.

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

The fifth grant will have two different rates depending on how much your turnover (fees/sales) has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021.  We will have to wait a bit longer for HMRC’s full guidance.

The amounts of the fifth SEISS grant will be: