Chancellor Rishi Sunak has now announced the extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) until April 2020, to the relief of many businesses. The businesses praised the scheme for helping them to stay afloat during the coronavirus lockdown. However, the scheme has also faced significant criticism for excluding a number of self-employed people who do not meet the scheme’s criteria.
Who is eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?
The businesses must be eligible for the current scheme to be eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme extension.
People also need to declare that they are currently actively trading, and intend to continue to do so. They must declare their business has been impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus in the qualifying period.
The eligibility criteria for the Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is as follows, and all must apply to the business:
- traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted Self Assessment tax return on or before April 23, 2020, for that year
- traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
- intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
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Who is not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?
- The SEISS grant is not available for people who trade through a limited company or trust.
- People who recorded profits of more than £50,000 for 2018/2019 may not be eligible for the scheme.
- Anyone whose self-employment profits for this period were less than their non-trading income may also not be eligible for the scheme, which affects people who are also employed.
- Newly self-employed people may also find they are not eligible for SEISS grants.
How much will the businesses get from the SEISS extension?
The Government has confirmed the extension of the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme until April 2021. Two grants covering three-month periods will be available, and each grant will be paid in one instalment. The first grant was worth 80 per cent of monthly trading profits, capped at £7,500.
