How to apply for the fifth self-employed grant
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Posted: Thu 29th Jul 2021
Applications for the fifth grant through the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) are now open. Here's a summary of the official government guidance.
This guide is a summary of the official guidance here. The fifth grant is more complicated than previous grants and we urge you to read the official guidance in full before applying for the grant.
The fifth SEISS grant is to cover the period between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021. Up to £7,500 is available.
The general eligibility is the same as previous grants but the fifth grant is different in the fact that for most people the value of the grant received is based on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on your turnover. You may need the support of an accountant or tax agent but they cannot submit an application on your behalf. You must do it yourself.
General eligibility for the fifth self-employed grant
You must be a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership. You must also have traded in tax years 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.
You must have:
submitted your 2019 to 2020 tax return on or before 2 March 2021
trading profits of no more than £50,000
trading profits at least equal to your non-trading income
If you’re not eligible based on the trading profits in your 2019 to 2020 return, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will look back at previous years.
When you make your claim you must tell HMRC that you:
intend to keep trading in 2021 to 2022
reasonably believe there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to the impact of COVID-19 between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021
New eligibility rules for the fifth self-employed grant
The fifth grant is different from previous grants. In most cases, when making your claim you’ll need to tell HMRC about your business turnover which will inform how much grant you get.
Turnover includes the takings, fees, sales or money earned or received by your business.
To make your claim, you need to have turnover figures for:
a 12-month period starting between 1 April 2020 and 6 April 2020
either 2019 to 2020 or 2018 to 2019
HMRC will compare these figures to work out how much you’ll get.
If your turnover is down by 30% or more, you'll get a grant worth 80% of three months’ average trading profits up to a maximum £7,500.
If your turnover is down by less than 30%, you'll get a grant worth 30% of three months’ average trading profits up to a maximum £2,850.
What not to include in your turnover figures
Anything reported as any other income on your tax return. You should also not include any coronavirus support payments such as:
previous SEISS grants
Eat Out to Help Out payments
local authority or devolved administration grants
When you do not need turnover figures to claim
HMRC will not ask you for any turnover figures if you started trading in 2019 to 2020 and did not trade in the following tax years:
2018 to 2019
2017 to 2018
2016 to 2017
You’ll get 80% of three months’ average trading profits up to a maximum of £7,500.
Example of how grants are worked out
HMRC has provided the following example of how grants are worked. The example is based on a self-employed individual who had average trading profits of £42,000 over the last four tax years.
Start with your average trading profit (£42,000).
Divide by 12 = £3,500.
Multiply by 3 = £10,500.
If you’re eligible for the higher grant:
Work out 80% of £10,500 = £8,400.
You’ll get the maximum grant of £7,500.
If you’re eligible for the lower grant:
Work out 30% of £10,500 = £3,150.
You’ll get the maximum grant of £2,850.
There is more detailed guidance on how to work out your turnover here.
How to make a claim for the fifth self-employed grant
The online service for applying for the fifth self-employment grant is here. You can make a claim until 30 September 2021.
You should make your claim on or after the personal claim date HMRC has given you.
If your claim is approved, HMRC will pay your grant into your bank account within six working days.
You are asked to not contact HMRC unless it has been more than 10 working days since you made your claim and you have not received your payment.
This guide is a summary of the official guidance here. The fifth grant is more complicated than previous grants and we urge you to read the official guidance in full before applying for the grant.
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