A8.101 Self-employment income support scheme (SEISS)

Division A8.1     Coronavirus (COVID-19) and business

For updates affecting this Division please see Part A0 Updates

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and self-employment

A8.101 Self-employment income support scheme (SEISS)

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, self-employed individuals and members of partnerships are able to claim taxable grants under the self-employed income scheme (SEISS). There have been three grants paid so far and the fourth SEISS grant was announced at Budget 2021 and takes into account 2019/20 tax returns, so those who became self-employed in 2019/20, who were excluded from the previous grants as they were based on average trading profits for 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19, will be eligible to claim this grant. The fourth SEISS grant is set at 80% of three months' average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500. This grant is open for claims in late April 2021 and a claim must be made by 31 May 2021. For the eligibility criteria, see 'Eligibility for the fourth grant' below. It was also announced at Budget 2021 that there will be a fifth and final grant covering May to September 2021, for further details, see 'Amount of the fourth and fifth grant' below.

In summary, the previous grants were as follows:

1.  

   •     first grant for an initial period of three months, subject to a maximum amount of £7,500 in total, closed on 13 July 2020

2.  

   •