HMRC have now released details of the 5th SEISS grant which will be available to apply for using the online service from the end of July and as with the previous grants cannot be submitted by us as agents.
If you’re eligible based on your tax returns, HMRC will contact you in mid-July to give you a date that you can make your claim from. It will be given to you either by email, text message, letter or within the online service.
A word of caution though, just because HMRC contact you does not mean that you meet the tests to claim the grant. The grant is self-assessed and is subject to HMRC checking after it is paid.
The grant covers the period from 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021. It is open to all those who are eligible regardless of whether they have claimed any other grants. The conditions are as follows:
- traded in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021
- intend to keep trading in 2021/2022
- a tax return for 2019/2020 must have been submitted by 2 March 2021
- reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to the impact of COVID-19 between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021
Income Tests
- average trading profits must be £50,000 or less
- trading income must be at least equal to non-trading income (50% test)
If you’re not eligible based on the trading profits in your 2019 to 2020 return, HMRC will look back at previous years.
The amount of grant will be based on how much turnover has been reduced in the tax year to 5/4/2021.
| Turnover reduction | How much will be paid | Maximum grant |
| 30% or more | 80% of 3 months average trading profits | £7,500 |
| Less than 30% | 30% of 3 months average trading profits | £2,850 |
The grant you receive is subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance Contributions. It must be reported on your 2021 to 2022 Self Assessment tax return.
We fully expect HMRC to investigate the validity of grant claims, so it is important to realise that the claim could be challenged at a later date and have to be repaid.
Please ensure details of any grants claimed and supporting documentation are retained within your records.
Turnover
As the 5th SEISS grant is based on turnover reduction you will need to submit additional information when claiming this grant.
You’ll need to work out your turnover for:
- a 12-month period starting between 1 April 2020 and 6 April 2020
- either 2019/2020 or 2018/2019*
* In most cases, you must use the turnover reported in your 2019/2020 tax return as a reference year. If 2019/2020 was not a normal year for your business, you can use the turnover reported in your 2018/2019 tax return. Your records should support how 2019/2020 was not a normal year. For example, if you were on carers leave, long term sick leave, had a new child or lost a large contract.
HMRC will not ask you for any turnover figures if you started trading in 2019/2020 and did not trade in 2018/2019, 2017/2018 or 2016/2017.
Turnover includes the takings, fees, sales or money earned or received by your business/businesses. You should not include previous SEISS grants, Eat Out to Help Out payments received, or local authority grants. If you have more than one business you should combine the figures and report your total turnover.
You can find your turnover figures in places such as:
- 2020 to 2021 Self-Assessment tax return if you’ve completed it already (please note if you prepare your trading/partnership accounts to different accounting date that is not aligned with the tax year you will need to make a separate calculation)
- check your accounting software (if you use any)
- go through your bookkeeping or spreadsheet records that cover your self-employment invoices and payments received
- check the bank account you use for your business to account for money coming in from customers
- ask us as your accountant to assist
You should check that your turnover figures are accurate. HMRC will be able to check your figures after you submit your tax return for this period. It is advisable to retain your supporting documents in case of a future investigation.