This week we have started to see communication from the Government about the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.  This provides a grant of 80% of average monthly trading profits paid in a single instalment covering 3 months of up to £7,500.
There are some important things for you to consider:

• In order to set this up quickly, HMRC have not currently allowed for Agents (accountants) to make claims on behalf of clients.  We are not sure at the moment how/if/when we will be able to support clients to make the claim.  There is strong lobbying from the Chartered Accounting profession to HMRC requesting that Agents can help clients, but there is nothing in place at the moment;

• To make the claim, you will need a Government Gateway account.  We strongly advise that you create a Government Gateway account as soon as possible, or check your access if you already have one.  The preferred method to set up a Gateway account is from the “eligibility checker” below.  Alternatively, it can be created from https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services, but will generate an authentication code which is sent in the post, so slower;

• The “eligibility checker” is available here: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference.   You will need your 10 digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (“UTR”) to access this, and your national insurance number.  As agents we can access the Checker for you, and advise on the results, although your options may be limited.  The process for disputing the amount of the grant is not yet known.  If you wish for us to do this, please make contact.

The online service will be available from 13 May 2020. We expect that HMRC will advise tax payers the date they can make their claim between 13 May and 18 May.  HMRC will check claims, and expect to make payments within 6 working days starting from 25 May 2020.

If you require assistance with reference numbers such as your UTR, these are printed on HMRC correspondence and your tax return.  We will be happy to provide these details.

Please also do be aware of fraudulent and scam emails which are unfortunately prevalent at the moment.

We would like to assure you that we are open for business to help all our clients through this challenging time.  Our office is open for the receipt of books and records and all of our staff are available remotely.  Please do contact us if you need support.