The eligibility criteria for the second grant is exactly the same as the first grant – so self-employed people who were eligible for the first SEISS grant will be eligible for the second grant, so long as their business has been adversely affected since 14 July 2020. This typically means that their business has experienced lower income and / or higher costs because of coronavirus (COVID-19) since 14 July. There is no minimum threshold over which a business’s income, costs or activity need to have changed by, but your clients will be asked to keep appropriate records as evidence of how their business has been adversely affected.
It is important to note that in order to be eligible to claim ALL of the following must apply;
- you traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted your Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
- you traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
- you intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
- you carry on a trade which has been adversely affected by coronavirus
The second taxable grant is worth 70% of average monthly trading profits, a reduction from the 80% available under the first grant. This will be paid out in a single instalment and will be based on three months’ worth of trading profits and capped at a maximum of £6,570. Remember this will be classed as taxable income for the year 2020/21.
The process will be very similar to the first application. Applications will be made online and you will need the following information;
- Your Unique Tax Reference Number (UTR) – you can find this on most letters from HMRC or on your tax return
- Your National Insurance number
- Your Government Gateway Login
- Your bank account and sort code
After you have made the claim your application will be checked by HMRC and if it is accepted the money will be paid into your account within 6 working days.
As always, if you have any questions you can contact the team by phone or email. The office is open but meetings are by appointment only so that we can maintain social distancing.