Tens of thousands of self-employed people have until midnight to apply for a support grant from the government, before the current emergency Covid-19 scheme closes for good.
Businesses who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic have until the end of Monday to apply for support worth up to £6,750.
This is through the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) which is available to businesses who earn less than £50,000 a year.
The taxable payout is worth 70% of your average monthly trading profits, and those who qualify will be paid in a single instalment covering three months of income.
It's capped at £2,190 a month - so the maximum you can claim is £6,750 in total.
However, it closes at midnight on October 19, 2020.
To apply this time around, you will need to confirm your business has been impacted by the virus since July 14.
Those receiving a grant can continue to work or start a new trade or take on other employment including voluntary work.
Applications for the first grant closed on July 13, 2020. The second grant opened for applications on August 17, 2020 and closes today, October 19, 2020.
Who qualifies for the grant?
To be eligible, you must have filed a tax return for 2018/19 to HMRC, meaning you must have been self-employed on April 6, 2019.
The grants are calculated based on your average profits over three years (ie in 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19).
If you weren't in business in 2016/17, it will be based on your average profits in 2017/18 and 2018/19, or otherwise the last tax year.
To qualify, you must also earn more than half of your total income from self-employment and your profits must not exceed £50,000 a year.
Self-employed workers who are company directors or run their businesses as limited companies are not eligible for the support.
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How can I apply for the help?
You can make your claim via the Gov.uk website.
Self-employed workers will need the following information to apply:
- Self-assessment unique taxpayer reference (UTR) – if you do not have this, you can find out how to get your lost UTR here
- National insurance number – find out how to locate a lost national insurance number
- Government Gateway user ID and password – if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you make your claim online
- UK bank details (only provide bank account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted).
Applicants must make the claim themselves through HMRC and cannot use an agent or accountant to act on their behalf.
What happens next?
Rishi Sunak announced a new self-employed grant on September 24 for those who are still financially vulnerable.
However, the latest scheme will cover just 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875, spanning from November to January next year.
An additional second grant will be available for self-employed workers from February 2021 to April 30.
The government is yet to confirm how much this second grant will cover.
