Getting ready to claim Self employed grant 

You will be able to claim 4th Self employed grant at any time from your personal claim date in late April until 1‌‌ June, at the latest. In order to claim, you will need to log in to their Government Gateway account with their user ID and password. If you do not have a Government Gateway account (for example, customers who are newly self-employed), you should create one now to avoid delaying their claim. 

Eligibility for the fourth grant

To be eligible for the fourth grant, you must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. Grants are not available if you trade through a limited company or a trust. Trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to or more than your non-trading income.

Capped at £7,500 the fourth grant will be set at 80% of three months’ average trading profits. There will also be a fifth grant covering May to September 2021 and will take the individual’s trading position for 2020/2021.

What information do you need to check your eligibility?

To confirm your eligibility and make your claim, you will need your:  

1. National Insurance number: If you do not know this, you can go to the HMRC app or access your online Personal Tax Account (PTA). 
2. Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number: you can find this on their Self Assessment papers or your PTA. 
3. Government Gateway user ID and password: To avoid delays, please ensure you check that you can log in to the Government Gateway before your personal claim date. If you do not have an account, or has forgotten your details, you can follow the instructions on GOV‌‌‌‌‌‌.UK by searching ‘HMRC services: sign in or register’. Please also ensure you checks that your contact details are correct in their Government Gateway account. 
4. Bank account number and sort code: For a building society account, you should include the roll number, if you have one. 

HMRC will also ask for the address of bank or building society account is registered to. Please note this is your address – most likely your home or business premises – not the address of your bank or building society. 

Can my accountant apply for my self employed grant?

As with previous SEISS grants, we cannot make a claim on behalf of you, or use your log in details, as this will trigger a fraud alert and result in significant delays receiving payment.

You are also required to keep appropriate records as evidence of the impact on their business.

If you have not claimed before 

If this is your first time claiming a SEISS grant, you may be asked additional questions to prove your identity. 

Questions could relate to any of the following: 

• your UK passport
• information held on your credit file (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages) 
• your Self Assessment tax return (within the last three years) 
• your tax credit claim 
• your P60 
• one of your three most recent payslips. 

Your claim may be delayed if you cannot answer the identity verification questions. 

Reasonable belief

In order to claim the fourth grant, you must reasonably believe that you’ll suffer a significant reduction in trading profits, due to reduced business activity, capacity, demand or inability to trade due to coronavirus between 1 February 2021 and 30‌‌ ‌April‌‌ ‌2021. You must keep evidence that shows how your business has been impacted by coronavirus resulting in less business activity than otherwise expected.

HMRC expects people applying for SEISS four to make an honest assessment about whether they reasonably believe their business will have a significant reduction in profits.

Significant reduction in trading profits

Before making a claim, you must decide if the impact on their business between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021 will cause a significant reduction in your trading profits for the tax year they report them in.

HMRC cannot make this decision for you because individual and wider business circumstances will need to be considered when deciding whether the reduction is significant.

You should wait until you have a reasonable belief that your trading profits are going to be significantly reduced, before you make your claim.

You do not have to consider any other coronavirus scheme support payments that you have received when deciding if you’ve had a significant reduction in your trading profits.

There are some examples that you and your clients can use to help you decide.

What if I have made an amendment to 2019-20 SA returns after 3 March 2021 

If you make, or has made, an amendment to your 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 or 2019-20 tax return on or after 3 March 2021, HMRC must be notified within 90 days if the amendment either:  

• lowers the amount of SEISS grant you are eligible for  
• causes you to no longer be eligible for a SEISS grant. 

You may need to pay back some or all of the grant. If we are not notified, we will contact you after the deadline for making amendments to tell them what amount they may need to pay back.

If HMRC is not notified within 90 days, you may also have to pay a penalty.

HMRC does not need to be notified if either:  

• the amount you’re eligible for is lowered by £100 or less  
• you are no longer eligible and the grant you received was £100 or less.  

If you’re not sure that your grant amount has been reduced you should contact HMRC for further help. Please search ‘Get Help with SEISS’ for contact details. 

Where can I get further support?

HMRC have a series of live webinars about claiming the fourth SEISS grant. You can watch HMRC videos and register for  webinars to learn more about the support available. 

Go to help and support if your business is affected by coronavirus to book online, or to view updated guidance. If you’re booked on a webinar but can no longer attend, please cancel your place to allow space for others to register.

For the CJRS, there’s also list of monthly claims deadlines and a helpful step by step guide on GOV‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌.UK, summarising the latest information on the CJRS and the steps you need to take to make a claim.

Find out what other government financial support may be available for you and your business as part of the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs on GOV.UK.