The government has announced that they are increasing the overall level of the Self-Employment Income Support grant to 80% of trading profits, covering November to January for all parts of the UK.
How much will the grant be?
- Self-employed individuals can claim 80% of their trading profits for November to January;
- The grant is calculated based on 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment;
- The increases the maximum grant available to £7,500; and
- The grant is subject to National Insurance contributions.
What are the eligibility criteria?
Eligibility criteria is different from the first two grants, whereby you could make a claim if your business had been adversely affected by coronavirus. To be eligible to claim for the third grant, self-employed traders needs to show that their business is facing reduced demand due to coronavirus.
To be eligible for the grant extension, self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships must:
- Have been previously eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme first and second grant (although they do not have to have claimed the previous grants);
- Declare that they intend to continue to trade; and either
- Are currently actively trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus; or
- Were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.
When can claims be made?
- The claims window will now open from 30 November, rather than 14 December, to enable grants to be paid faster than previously planned.
An additional Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant will run from February 2021 to April 2021. The government will review the level of this grant in due course.