There have been a couple of announcements in recent days in terms of guidance on the SEISS 5th grant and a reminder about the cash boost for apprenticeships, originally announced back in the Spring Budget. We have summarised this guidance below and also taken the opportunity to remind you about the upcoming changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Self Employed Income Support Scheme
HMRC have issued initial guidance ahead of the fifth round of the Self Employed Income Support Scheme that will cover May 2021 to September 2021.
Who can claim?
To be eligible to make a claim, applicants must:
- be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership
- have traded in the tax years 2019/20 (and submitted a tax return on or before 2 March 2021)
- have traded in the tax years 2020/21.
Applicants must either:
- currently be trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to the Coronavirus pandemic
- have been trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Eligibility:
When assessing whether an applicant is eligible, HMRC will look at the 2019/20 Self Assessment Tax Return. Trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to the non-trading income.
If an applicant is not eligible based on their 2019/20 Self Assessment Tax Return, HMRC will look at tax years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Additional information to be retained:
As with the fourth grant, applicants must keep evidence that shows how their business has been impacted by coronavirus, which resulted in less business activity than otherwise expected. Applicants must also confirm that they intend to continue to trade and that they reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in trading profits from May 2021 to September 2021.
What’s different with the fifth grant?
The amount that can be claimed under the fifth grant will be determined by how much an applicant’s turnover has reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021.
Further information is expected in due course to assist when calculating how turnover has been affected.
How much will eligible applicants get?
When do applications open?
The online claims service for the fifth grant is expected to open in late July 2021.
HMRC will contact eligible applicants in mid-July 2021 with a date from which they can make a claim.
Full government guidance can be found here.
Further guidance is expected at the end of June 2021. In the meantime, a reminder that whilst not repayable, the grant is subject to tax.
Cash boost for apprenticeships
In his Budget in March 2021, the Chancellor announced a new cash boost to assist employers invest in a skilled workforce for the future.
From 1 June, employers of all sizes in England can apply for extra funding to assist them take on new apprentices. Businesses can apply to claim £3,000 for each new apprentice hired as a new employee between 1 April 2021 until 30 September 2021.
This payment is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice who is:
- aged 16 – 18 years old
- under 25 with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority.
Eligibility:
Employers can only apply for new apprentices who joined their organisation from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021.
When will funds be paid?
Payments will only be made once an applicant’s finance details have been received and verified. The payment will be made in 2 instalments for each apprentice. The first payment will be due after an apprentice completes 90 days of their apprenticeship and the second payment will be due after 365 days.
How to apply:
Further information on how to make a claim can be found here.
Changes to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)
Finally, a reminder that government and employer contributions under the CJRS will change as follows:
- from 1 July 2021 – 31 July 2021, the government will contribute 70% of an employee’s current salary with the employer contributing 10%
- from 1 August 2021 – 30 September 2021, the government will contribute 60% of an employee’s current salary with the employer contributing 20%.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns then you should not hesitate to get in touch with your usual Mitchell Charlesworth adviser.
