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A fifth SEISS grant was announced in the Budget on 3 March 2021, and will be made available over the summer covering May to September 2021.
The fifth grant has similar qualifying conditions to the fourth SEISS grant.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this 5th (and expected to be final) grant for self-employed individuals,
- 2019-20 trading profits must be £50,000 or less and at least equal to non-trading income. Where taxpayers are not eligible based on 2019-20, HMRC will look at 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
- Taxpayers must have traded in both 2019-20 and 2020-21.
- The 2019-20 tax return must have been submitted on or before 2 March 2021.
Specific requirements of taxpayers include:
- They must be currently trading, but impacted by reduced demand due to Coronavirus, or have been trading but temporarily unable to do so due to Coronavirus.
- Grant claimants must declare that they:
-
- intend to continue to trade.
- reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in their trading profits due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to Coronavirus from May 2021 to September 2021.
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HMRC expects taxpayers to make an honest assessment about whether they reasonably believe their business will have a significant reduction in profits.
Evidence must be kept to demonstrate how the business has been impacted by Coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.
Difference to previous SEISS grants
The amount of the grant is determined based on how much turnover has decreased in the year April 2020 to April 2021 compared to a reference year: either 2019-20 or 2018-19.
As part of the claim process, it will be necessary to give HMRC details of business turnover, in order to work out the grant amount.
There is another key difference from previous rounds of SEISS grants. Where turnover has decreased by:
| > 30% |
the full grant of 80% of three months average trading profits, capped at £7,500, will be paid. |
| < 30% |
a reduced grant of 30% of three months average trading profits, capped at £2,850, will be paid. |
As with previous grants, the grant is Taxable and paid in a single instalment.
Availability
Claims can be made from late July 2021 (specific date to be announced).
Eligible taxpayers will be contacted by HMRC from mid-July 2021 to confirm their earliest claim date.
Claims can be made no later than 30 September 2021.
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