HMRC updates to Coronavirus support have been made available online. With lockdown in England expected to last until at least 2nd December and other areas of the UK still under restrictions designed to reduce the impact of the pandemic on lives, the government has updated its information around supporting livelihoods via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Update on 13th November: HMRC will publish employer names, an indication of the value of the claim and for LLPs and companies their company registration number. This will apply to those who make claims for December onwards. There is likely to be an opportunity to request that HMRC do not publish these details in respect of risks of publication. More information is expected shortly from HMRC.
The CJRS has been extended to 31st March 2021 in light of the ongoing pandemic and the closure of many businesses due to the second lockdown.
For periods ending on or before 31st October 2020, the final date to claim is 30th November 2020.
However, claims for furloughed employees in November 2020 must be submitted by 14th December 2020.
Claims in November can be made for 80% of the employee’s reference pay to a maximum of £2,500 per month, with no obligation to the employer to contribute towards that figure. However, the government will not be making a contribution to employer NICs and pension contributions.
As before, employees on furlough must not work or provide services to the business during hours they are on furlough.
The Job Retention Scheme calculator is now available online.
The Job Retention Bonus has now been withdrawn due to the extension of the CJRS.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant has been extended to provide two additional grants to cover the period from November 2020 to April 2021.
To be eligible, the self-employed individual must have been eligible for the first and second grants but do not have to have claimed at the time. They must make a declaration of their intention to continue to trade and must be impacted by reduced demand or temporarily unable to trade due to Coronavirus.
The first extension grant covers the period from 1st November 2020 to 31st January 2021. It will be a taxable grant calculated at 80% of three months’ average monthly trading profits and capped at £7,500 in total. The online claim portal will be open on 30th November 2020.
The second extension grant will cover the period from February to April 2021, however HMRC updates to Coronavirus support for this period are yet to be released on gov.uk.
Supporting Self-Employed clients
If you’re using BTCSoftware’s Self-Assessment software, we have made a report available to you that will assist in calculating your clients’ claims for grants under the SEISS.
To access the report, go to the Reports menu and open the Tax Return Status sub-menu. Then, select SA Income & Profit Data for Individuals.
