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The fifth Self Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant is the last one that the Government plans to offer as financial assistance to self employed individuals, or those in a partnership, whose business continues to be affected by Covid.

The online claim service will be available from late July onwards, but if you are eligible, HMRC will contact you shortly with your exact claim date.  This contact will either be by email, letter or within the online service.

If you are eligible to make a claim the closing date for applications is 30 September 2021, but as the claim needs some figures, you should start pulling these together now so as not to delay your payment.

Who can claim?

The eligibility criteria are similar to previous grants, but you must also now consider how your business has been affected in the period 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021.

The criteria are as follows:

• you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership who has carried on a trade in 2019/20 and 2020/21
• you must have submitted your 2019/20 tax return on or before 2 March 2021
• you must have trading profits of no more than £50,000 and these trading profits must be greater than your non trading income (if this test is not met for 2019/20 then you look back at previous years and average your profits)
• you must intend to continue to carry on a trade in 2021/22 at the time you claim the grant
• you must reasonably believe that, due to Covid, your trade will see a significant reduction in trading profits in the period 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021 compared to what you would have reasonably expected if you had not suffered that reduced activity, capacity or demand

How much will the grant be?

This grant is different from the previous grants as it offers two levels of assistance.

Once you have met the eligibility criteria, the level of grant you receive will be based on how much your business turnover has reduced.

If your turnover has reduced by at least 30%, then the grant you can claim will be 80% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at a maximum of £7,500.

If your turnover has reduced by less than 30%, or in fact has not reduced at all, then the grant you can claim will be 30% of three months’ average trading profits, capped at a maximum of £2,850.

How do I calculate my turnover figures?

The figures you will need are for a 12 month period between 1 April 2020 to 6 April 2021, for example the year to 31 March 2021 or the year to 5 April 2021.

You then compare this to the turnover figure for the previous 2019/20 tax year or, if this was not a normal year for you because for example you were on maternity leave or were on long term sick, then you can use the previous 2018/19 tax year.

Your turnover is the takings, fees, sales and money earned by your business.  The best place to find this figure is from your business accounts or annual tax return.  If these have not yet been prepared for the year ended 5 April 2021 then you will need to work out your turnover before making your claim.

An important point to note is that your turnover figure for claim purposes does not include any Covid support payments such as SEISS grants, Eat Out to Help Out payments and local authority administration grants.

If your business year end does not fall in line with 31 March or 5 April, then you will need to apportion your turnover on a time basis.

Please note if you started trading or became a partner in a partnership in 2019/20, and were not involved in any other businesses prior to this year, then you will be entitled to the 80% of three months’ average trading profits without considering the turnover test.

Please also note that if you are a member of a partnership, and were not involved in any other businesses in any of the comparison years, it is the partnership turnover figures which will dictate the % grant that the individual partners can claim, i.e. 30% or 80%.

If you were a member of a partnership but also had a sole trade business, or were a partner in other partnerships, then your turnover figures are the partnership figures, but these are adjusted based on your profit sharing arrangement.

How do I apply?

As with previous grants, the claim is made through your HMRC Government Gateway account.  Accountants are unable to make the claim on behalf of clients but can assist by providing turnover figures.

Is the grant taxable?

Yes, the grant is subject to Income Tax and National Insurance. It will need to be included on your tax return for the year ended 5 April 2022.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries regarding the fifth SEISS grant or need assistance compiling your turnover figures.