Since it went live on Wednesday, a million people have applied for money from the Government's new self-employed support scheme (SEISS) - with some having already received their cash.
The grant is worth up to 80% of average trading profits over three months for those stuck at home - up to a maximum of £7,500.
About 3.8 million self-employed workers are eligible for the payout, you can check if you can claim here.
It opened at 8am on Wednesday, and proved instantly popular.
"By noon today we’d already received 110,000 claims for our Self-Employed Income Support Scheme," Chancellor Rishi Sunak tweeted on the day of launch.
Overall there were 440,000 applications on the first day, with another people 500,000 applying on the second, according to The Sun, meaning the total is now over one million applications.
It is the biggest direct financial support package for freelancers and the self-employed since lockdown started, and claims for lost work can be dated back to March.
Everyone eligible for the SEISS will be able to receive the Government grant by May 25, or within six days of a completed claim, it added.
In fact, Mirror Money has seen people reporting that money has already hit their bank accounts - just days after launch.
Derek Cribb, chief executive of IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), said: "For the self-employed, coronavirus is not only a health crisis, but also a pressing income crisis.
"We are delighted that the Government has heeded much of IPSE's advice by setting up the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which extends a much-needed lifeline to those self-employed people who are eligible for it."
Who can claim
Individuals are eligible if their business has been adversely affected by coronavirus, they traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020, intend to continue trading, and they:
- Earn at least half of their income through self-employment
- Have trading profits of no more than £50,000 per year
- Traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
HMRC calculates the amount to be paid to each eligible claimant based on an average of the tax returns for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Customers have been invited to claim their SEISS grant on a specified date, from 13 - 18 May. They won’t be able to apply before their claim date but can make a claim after that day.
People can check their date using HMRC’s online checker at any time.
For further information, please read HMRC’s guidance or speak to your tax agent. If you need further support, please use HMRC’s webchat service or call the Covid-19 Helpline on 0800 024 1222.
