It has been confirmed that the Self Employment Income Support Scheme will be available for those eligible to claim from 13 May. This is ahead of the original June schedule. HMRC will begin contacting eligible self employed people this week by email, text and letter to inform them they can claim and explain how they apply.

The Self Employment Income Support Scheme will allow taxpayers to claim a taxable grant of 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months, and capped at £7,500 altogether. It is expected that this scheme will launch in the next few weeks.

Who can claim?

You can use HMRC’s online tool to find out if you’re eligible to make a claim. This also provides self employed people with a confirmed date from 13 May onward when you can apply.

Check if you’re eligible to claim

Taxpayers can claim if they are self-employed individuals or a members of a partnership and:

• they carry on a trade which has been adversely affected by coronavirus
• they traded in the tax year 2018/19 and submitted their Self-Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
• they traded in the tax year 2019/20
• they intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020/21

The business could be adversely affected by coronavirus, for example if:

• They are unable to work because they:
  • are shielding
  • are self-isolating
  • are on sick leave because of coronavirus
  • have caring responsibilities because of coronavirus
• They have had to scale down or temporarily stop trading because:
  • Their supply chain has been interrupted
  • they have fewer or no customers or clients
  • their staff are unable to come in to work

When can you make a claim?

The online claim service is not available yet. HMRC will aim to contact taxpayers by 13 May 2020 if they consider that the taxpayer is eligible, to invite them to claim using the GOV.UK online service. Payment will be made by early June 2020 if the claim is approved.

If taxpayers are unable to claim online an alternative way to claim will be available. HMRC will update their guidance with more information soon.

Information required to make a claim

• Self-Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number
• National Insurance number
• Government Gateway user ID and password
• Bank account number and sort code you want HMRC to pay the grant into.

We will keep you updated on the launch of the scheme and assist with any queries on it.