During April you should be contacted by HMRC to let you know that you are eligible for the fourth instalment of the SEISS grant covering the period from 1 February to 30 April 2021. Eligibility criteria for this is different from the first three tranches but the amount due is similar.
To be eligible you must be self-employed or a member of a partnership and have traded in both 2019/20 and 2020/21. Your 2019/20 tax return must have been submitted by 2 March 2021. You may currently be trading but your demand has been reduced due to coronavirus or you may be temporarily closed due to coronavirus. You must declare that you intend to continue trading and your trading profits will be significantly reduced.
To be eligible for the grant your trading profits must be less than £50,000 and at least equal to your non-trading income. HMRC will look at the figures on the latest return but will also consider previous years if necessary to assess eligibility.
The grant will be calculated at 80% of 3 months' average trading profits, capped at £7,500 in total. HMRC will use up to 4 years of submitted tax returns to calculate average trading profits.
As with the previous grants you will need to make the claim yourself through the appropriate portal. Guidance is provided on the gov.uk website if you are in doubt. If you are not contacted by HMRC in the coming weeks but think you should be eligible please get in touch with our office.
