HMRC said payments will be received within six working days of claim
HMRC has launched an online tool for the self-employed to check if they are eligible to claim a grant under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme ahead of its launch on Wednesday May 13.
The scheme is designed to help self-employed individuals or those in a partnership whose business has been adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with those eligible able to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their average trading profits up to a maximum of £7,500 (equivalent to three months’ profits) in a single instalment.
Claims can be submitted online from Wednesday May 13, and HMRC said payments will reach bank accounts by May 25, or six working days after a claim is made.
HMRC said it is using information that customers have provided in their 2018-19 tax return – and returns for 2016-17 and 2017-18 where needed – to determine eligibility. Applicants can check their own eligibility now at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme and will need their Self-assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number and National Insurance number.
Claims can be submitted from May 13 by those who are a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and:
- traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted a self-assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year;
- traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020;
- intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021;
- earn at least half of their income through self-employment;
- have trading profits of no more than £50,000 per year.
To make a claim, applicants will need:
- Self-assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference;
- National Insurance number;
- Government Gateway user ID and password;
- bank account and sort-code for the account the grant is to be paid into.
