The full details for the fifth and final self-employment grant have been pushed back until July.
Earlier this month, the government provided an update on the fifth SEISS grant via its website - but only limited details were revealed.
The further information was expected to be released in late June, but it has now been pushed back until next month.
Those who work for themselves were expecting to receive guidance on how the last self-employed income support scheme (SEISS) grant will work this month.
In an update on the Gov.uk website, it says “guidance about claiming the grant will be available from early July 2021”.
MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis confirmed the date has been pushed back in a tweet last week.
He said: “CONFIRMED: The detailed info on the SEISS 5, the #SelfEmploymentGrant won't now be out until early July (it had been expected was late June).
“The claims window for the grant 5 should still open late July & people will be contacted with their personal claim date from mid-July.”
Here is what we know so far about the fifth SEISS grant:
When is the fifth SEISS grant opening and how much will it be worth?
As mentioned above by Martin, the fifth SEISS grant will be open to claims from "late July" although an exact date hasn't been given.
The date for when people can start applying has always been "late July" so this part of the guidance hasn't changed.
The latest from HMRC is that they’ll contact people from mid-July onwards with their unique claim date - this is the day you’ll then be able to apply for your grant.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed the fifth grant would be happening in his Budget back in February and said it will cover loss of profits through May until September.
But like the previous instalments, it will still be worth an average of three months’ profits.
If you have seen your turnover reduced by 30% or more, you’ll receive 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at £7,500.
But if your turnover has fallen by less than 30%, the amount you will get is 30% of three months’ average trading profit, capped at £2,850.
These are the same calculations that have been used to work out how much people receiving the fourth SEISS grant should get.
The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much your turnover has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021.
Further support and information about how exactly this will be worked out is what is expected to be revealed from early July.
Who is eligible for the fifth SEISS grant?
The eligibility for SEISS five is the same as it was for the fourth grant.
For the fourth grant, you must have:
Filed a 2019/20 tax return
Traded in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 tax years - and continue to trade beyond this
Seen your business profits impacted by the coronavirus crisis - and have evidence of this
Earned at least 50% of your total income from self-employment
Recorded average trading profits of £50,000 a year or less
The Gov.uk website says your 2019/2020 self-assessment tax return will be used to work out your eligibility for the fifth grant.
If you’re not eligible based on your 2019/2020 tax return, the government will turn to your 2016/2017, 2017/2018, 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 returns.
Crucially, you can keep working while you claim a SEISS grant but you must prove your profits have been affected by Covid.
How do I apply for the fifth SEISS grant?
The government hasn’t said whether the application process will be the same for the fifth grant.
With the previous payments, HMRC contacted eligible people via text, email or post with the date they could claim.
Once you’ve got this confirmation, you then had to apply via a special page on the Gov.uk website.
If you think you should be able to claim, and you don’t hear anything by late July, you can call the HMRC helpline on 0800 024 1222.
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