Fifth self-employment grant: When can I apply and how much will it be?

CHANCELLOR Rishi Sunak has confirmed there will be a fifth grant for the self-employed.

In a welcome boost for self-employed workers hit by the Covid crisis, he also announced further details about a fourth grant too.

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Details of the fifth, and final, self employment grant were revealed in today’s Budget[/caption]

Both grants will be available for 600,000 newly self-employed workers as long as they submitted a tax return by midnight last night.

But when can you claim the fifth grant? We explain what we know so far.

When does the fifth grant come into effect?

The Chancellor announced in his Budget that there would be a fifth grant which will cover loss of profits through May until September this year.

The grant – which the Government says will be the final one – can be claimed from late July.

We don’t know an exact date yet for when applications will open, but the Government is expected to release more details “in due course”.

How much will the fifth grant be?

How much you will be able to claim under the fifth grant will be determined by a turnover test.

But you could get up to £7,500.

Brits who have seen their turnover fall by 30% or more will be able to get receive the full grant  – which is 80% of average monthly profits capped at £7,500.

But those who have seen their turnover drop by less than 30% will receive less.

They will be able to get a 30% grant, capped at £2,850, as they have less need for taxpayer support.

Who is eligible for the fifth grant?

The Chancellor has now confirmed that as long as newly self-employed people have submitted a tax return by midnight on March 2, they will have access to the fourth and fifth grants.

Although more details about the fifth grant will be announced by the Government at a later date, there is likely to be other criteria you must meet in order to apply.

While the eligibility criteria for SEISS grants have changed since March last year, self-employed workers have always had to meet a stringent set of criteria to be eligible for the payout.

For instance, for the third grant, you had to meet the following criteria:

• Self-employed workers must have been eligible for the first and second grant – even if you didn’t claim them. (This is with the exception of some people who became eligible after a couple of rule changes in August.)
• You needed to declare that you intended to continue trading and that you were either currently actively trading but impacted by reduced demand due to the coronavirus or previously trading but were temporarily unable to do so due to the pandemic.
• You must have filed a tax return for 2018/19, meaning you must have been self-employed before April 6, 2019.
• You must also have been earning more than half of your total income from self-employment.
• Your trading profit must have been less than £50,000 a year.
• It is likely that the fourth and fifth grants are likely to be subject to similar criteria.

How do I apply?

You won’t be able to apply for the fifth grant yet – you can put a claim in for this from late July.

However, when applications for the scheme open, you’ll most likely have to make your claim via the Gov.uk website.

Self-employed workers need the following info to claim:

• For Self-assessment unique taxpayer reference (UTR) – if you do not have this find out how to get your lost UTR
• National insurance number – if you do not have this find out how to get your lost national insurance number
• Government Gateway user ID and password – if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you make your claim
• UK bank details (only provide bank account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted.

For a deep dive into the how SEISS works, we’ve put together a guide with everything you need to known about the system.

We meet the entrepreneurs who’ve set up their own businesses after coronavirus left them jobless.

The Chancellor will take questions from the press and the public in a press briefing this evening at 5pm.