The self employment
income support scheme (SEISS) is a grant offered by the government which recognises the financial impact of self employed individuals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been granted in two instalments, the second of which is currently being delivered and is available to individuals who meet the right criteria.
On the first roll out of this grant, all an eligible individual had to do was tick a box to confirm they had been adversely affected by COVID-19. During the second roll out currently being distributed, the tick box is supported by a further statement which says the individual may be asked to prove it. Naturally, this has raised more questions and individuals are being more cautious this time around in applying for the grant. Certainly, we have had an increase in queries about this on the previous roll out.
So what does it mean to be adversely affected? Well, there’s no real guidance on this. The amount you have to be affected by is not quantified by the government, so if we take the statement quite literally then any increase in costs or decrease in sales that can be attributed to the pandemic constitutes being adversely affected. Had to take out a Zoom subscription to deliver online classes? Yep, adversely affected. Had to buy PPE or a bottle of COVID approved disinfectant? Yep, adversely affected. Had to furlough staff because you can’t maintain social distancing at work? Yep – because the adverse affect doesn’t need to be financial. In HMRC’s own words, you must be adversely affected by health, social and economic emergency.
HMRC have confirmed that there is no minimum threshold over which you business’ income or costs need to have changed to be adversely affected, but they do expect you to make an honest assessment.
Something to note though, which has been difficult to find in any guidance, is that to be eligible for the second grant you must have been adversely affected between 14th July and 19th October 2020. So do be careful – the two grants do relate very clearly to two separate periods and you must have been adversely affected in both periods to qualify for both grants. It is likely that most businesses in the first grant will have been adversely affected by a drop in sales or income, whereas in the second grant it is more likely as a result of increased costs incurred in preparing for re-opening and meeting new requirements for working conditions.
One last point on eligiblity that is worth noting as we have been asked this many times – if your business recovers after the grant has been claimed, the eligibility will not be affected. So I interpret that as being if you’ve had work cancelled because of the pandemic and therefore been eligible for the grant, should you pick up that work again post grant claim (and ultimately across the whole year have not lost out) then that’s ok. I guess after all, the government are restarting the economy, so the more you make the more they’ll get back in taxes anyway!
Quick point in terms of evidence, now that you’re being told you may have to prove it. Here’s a list of some examples from gov.uk on the kind of evidence you should consider keeping;
- Business accounts showing a reduction in turnover or increase in expenditure
- Confirmation of any coronavirus-related business loans you have received
- Dates your business had to close due to lockdown restrictions
- Date you or your staff were unable to work due to coronavirus symptoms, shielding or caring responsibilities
This list is presumably not exhaustive. As always, we would encourge keeping as many clear and concise records as possible, even if it seems over the top.
Matthew Coates
Information taken from gov.uk
