Yesterday (26th March 2020) the Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced unprecedented big bailout plan to help self-employed individuals by offering them financial support. The cost for this to the treasury is estimated to be £9bn.
Self-employed income support scheme will allow individuals to be able to claim up to 80% of their self-employed business up to the maximum of £2,500 / month for 3 months. It is expected that this will be a one off pay out sometime in first week of June 2020.
In order to qualify for self-employed income support scheme there are strict eligibility criteria and you must:
- Have submitted your Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year-end 2019 (2018/19). If this hasn’t been submitted yet the Chancellor has allowed this to be done by 23 April 2020.
- Have continued trading in the current tax year 2020 (2019/20).
- Is or would have still been trading when you apply (except for COVID-19)
- There is an intend to continue work as self-employed trade in the next tax year-end 2021 (2020/21).
- Have suffered loss in trading or partnership trading profits due to current COVID-19 crisis.
- Have self-employed trading profits of less than £50,000 (either in 2018/19 as a standalone year, or on an average basis for the three years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19)
- Generate more than 50% of your income from self-employment.
Eligible applicants will be entitled to 80% of average profits for the tax years 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, up to a maximum payment of £2,500 per month.
HMRC is currently working on to establish payment portal for eligible self-employed workers and all eligible individuals will be contacted directly by HMRC. As mentioned earlier the Chancellor has given an indication that such payment can only be available sometime in June 2020.
Government has also announced many other plans for businesses who may have been impacted during these unprecedented crisis. You can read our full article with all support available by clicking here
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