HMRC have this morning issued further guidance ahead of the fourth round of the Self Employed Income Support Scheme opening later this month.
HMRC have now confirmed that they will make contact with claimants (who they consider to be eligible based on tax returns at this point) by mid-April, either by letter, email, or via the online service, with a date upon which they can submit their claim. They have also issued additional guidance for claimants ahead of submitting their applications, which varies slightly from previous grant guidance.
What claimants will need:
As with the first three grants, claimants will need their:
- Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
- National Insurance number
- Government Gateway user ID and password
- UK bank details
Additional information to be retained:
As well as claimants confirming in their application that they reasonably believe they will suffer a significant reduction in trading profits, claimants should also retain where available documentation or evidence that shows how their business has been impacted by coronavirus, which resulted in less business activity than otherwise expected:
If you’re currently trading but have reduced activity, capacity and demand:
- Evidence must be kept to show that your business has experienced reduced activity due to coronavirus, including business bank accounts showing reduced activity compared with previous years (if trading previous to 2019/20)
- Records of reduced volume or cancelled appointments and/or contracts and not replaced
- A record of dates where you experienced reduced demand or capacity due to government restrictions.
If your business was previously trading but is temporarily unable to trade:
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- A record of dates when the business had to close due to government restrictions
- Test and trace communications if you had been instructed to self isolate (not including after foreign travel) and were unable to work from home
- Any NHS communication instructing you to shield
- Proof of a positive Coronavirus test result
- Correspondence from your child’s school confirming its closure, or reduced hours, meaning that you were unable to work.
