27/03/2020
π‘ This might be useful for a lot of people in the industry,, our accountants provided a summery of the "Self Employed Assistance Package"
Following the Chancellors announcement last night, here is a summary of the key points
βοΈa new self-employed income support scheme will pay self-employed people a taxable grant worth 80% of average monthly income, capped at Β£2,500pm
βοΈincome will be calculated by taking the average of income over the last three years
βοΈself-employed people can claim these grants and continue to do business (so it's not the same as furlough leave, where employees have to remain at home)
βοΈthe scheme is only open to anyone with trading profits of up to Β£50k (this covers 95% of self-employed people). Self-employed people who earn more will not qualify.
βοΈthe scheme is only open to those who make the majority of income from self-employment; if you are employed but have a 'side job' which is self-employed, you will not be eligible
βοΈthe scheme is only those who have submitted a tax return for 2019 (this is to minimise fraud). However, those who did not submit their tax return by the due date of 31 January 2020, and have not yet submitted one, can still submit a tax return for 2019 for a further four weeks from today
βοΈthere are no steps to take. HMRC will contact eligible self-employed people directly and pay the grant straight into their bank account after inviting them to fill out an online form
βοΈthe self-employed income support scheme will be open to people across UK for at least 3 months. However, the scheme is unlikely to be up and running before the end of June, so it will not help with immediate cash flow issues
Things to note-
This unfortunately does not provide any assistance to new businesses who have not yet completed a year full year, or businesses that are currently loss making
In these circumstances, you best route for assistance is the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Talk to your bank & other approved lenders"
