The Fifth Self Employed Income Support Scheme Grant Updated

Claiming the fifth SEISS grant 

The online claims service is now open until 30th September. Since mid-J‌ul‌y, HMRC has been contacting customers who are eligible to let them know their personal claim date. The claims must be made by the claimant although Pierce can assist you with preparing your claim.

The fifth grant will be determined by a turnover test for the majority. The test considers how much your turnover has reduced in the 2020-21 tax year due to the pandemic. 

Those who were not eligible for the fourth grant, will not be eligible for the fifth grant either as HMRC are using the same tax returns to determine eligibility for both grants. Guidance is now available on GOV‌.UK, search 'Self-Employment Income Support Scheme' for more information.

How to prepare for making the claim

• If you are eligible for the fifth SEISS grant and intend to claim, you may need to calculate your turnover for the twelve-month period starting from 1st April 2020 or 6th April 2020. HMRC will contact you from mid-July to let you know if you need to do this
• You do not need to submit your 2020-21 Self Assessment tax return at this time, even though we are asking for your 2020-21 turnover. The deadline for the 2020-21 Self Assessment tax return is 31 January 2022.
• The introduction of the turnover test means you may need our support to get ready to claim. We can help with this however as with previous SEISS grants, we cannot claim on your behalf. 

Further Checks 

HMRC has contacted some customers who started trading in 2019-20 and also claimed the fourth SEISS grant, to confirm their identity and business activity. They are asking for:

•  one form of identity and
•  three months worth of bank statements from the 2019-20 tax year.

To confirm the contact is genuine, you can review the 'HMRC trusted contacts' page on GOV‌.UK

https://www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=hmrc+trusted+contacts&order=relevance