Sounds too good to be true? Then it probably is… Let’s face it, if Del Boy came in to your local shouting such things, you would raise an eyebrow, to say the least… However, when our Chancellor starts to holler practically the same thing, well, there seems to be a more favourable response.
Not that I am saying Chancellor Rishi is akin to Del Boy. Anything but (next Prime Minister anyone?). Nevertheless, the message is the same.
It was less than a week ago in last Saturday’s blog (https://nowaccounting.co.uk/2020/03/21/bookkeeping-bites-the-chancellors-cogs-are-a-whirring/ where we started to detail the financial support available during this Corona pandemic. It seems like we have been over and under these new financial bars numerous times…. Whilst they were spinning!
And now, a week later, we are grappling with a newly released financial package for the self-employed…….
So, how does this look?
Putting it simply, generous, if you play ball with the Self-Assessment Tax Return system in the first place.
Our learned chartered accountant friends at On The Spot have released their, usual high standard blog in response to the recently announced self-employed support package.
Check out their blog in full here:
https://www.onthespottax.co.uk/blog/entry/2020/03/26/coronavirus-a-new-world-grants-for-sole-traders
Want the basic low down? To be eligible, you must be a self-employed individual or trading partnership and there is STUFF you NEED to have done, do or be… Here goes:
- Have submitted your Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19
- Traded in the tax year 2019-20
- Are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19
- intends to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21
- Have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19
And don’t forget this is for the self-employed with trading profits must also be less than £50,000…..
What will you get?
You will receive a (watch out for new lingo here) TAXABLE GRANT equal to 80% of the average of your profits showing in your income tax returns for the 2019, 2018 and 2017 income tax years (and Chancellor Rishi was quite insistent that even without the three years of tax returns, they ‘will take what you’ve got’)
To a maximum of £2500 a month, for three months. With the first payment being cited as being in June.
Doesn’t sound so bad, eh? Remember though, it is based on any profits recorded…. So, if you recorded a loss, you are out of luck, you really need to be investigating the other support on offer. Now.
How will you get it?
Well, it seems you won’t be scrabbling around for the old bits of past tax return paperwork or trying to remember where you saved your tax return PDFs…….. HMRC are going to do it for you, and will contact you IF you are eligible. From there you will have to apply.
They will contact you by letter. They will NOT contact you by email, text or ‘phone. Fraudulent scams are already around, so if you have anyone saying they are from HMRC via email, ‘phone or text, tell them to, well, DO ONE.
What happens now?
There are still lots of ‘HOW?’ questions flying about, and you know what we think about that…. Choose correct, verified information… Like our link above to On The Spot or the link below to the Government’s page on guidance for this support:
The information stream is CONSTANT, which is a really, really GOOD THING. The Government has shown they are listening, and responding…. We have no doubt that the support announced will, in some way, help MOST, but not ALL.
The BAD THING about the constant information? They are SO HOT on updating information, they are not bothering to tell us when it is updated or new…… So, if you want to keep up, be like us, check every day.
We know WHAT…. Do We?
Earlier in the week, we really felt ‘We know WHAT, we don’t know the HOW’ but now we are feeling ‘We kind of know WHAT, but that WHAT is changing…….. Every day’
So, with that in mind, we say: Keep calm, remain patient, in time, it WILL be clearer.
Stay safe, stay home, save lives.