From November 30, self-employed workers who are still struggling due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can apply for up to £7,500 worth of support in the United Kingdom.
The UK government’s third self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) opened on November 30, which is paying £7,500 to people who have no work due to the ongoing health crisis.
According to the scheme, sole-traders can get up to 80% of their income subsidized over the November to January period, which will be paid as one single installment.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, SEISS has given out two rounds of grants to the self-employed workers, according to Mirror.
For the first grant closed, applications closed on July 13, 2020, while for the second grant, applications opened on August 17 and closed on October 19, 2020.
In September, Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a third grant of the scheme to help self-employed workers to survive the winter.
To reap the benefits of the grant, applicants must have filed a tax return for 2018-19 to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which means they must have been self-employed on or before April 6, 2019. And to claim the payout, they must have been eligible for the first and second grants.
People must be trading, but with reduced demand due to the ongoing pandemic or no longer trading because of the crisis.
To qualify for the grant, people must earn more than half of their total income from self-employment and their profits must not exceed £50,000 a year.
The UK government has also announced that there would be a fourth grant that will cover from February 2021 to April 2021.
Self-employed mothers and fathers, who did not file their taxes due to certain conditions, can now apply for the grant.
One can apply for SEISS support through Gov.uk website. Self-employed workers will need:
- Self-assessment unique taxpayer reference (UTR)
- National insurance number
- Government Gateway user ID and password
- UK bank details
How will you get paid? The grant will be paid in one lump sum amount covering three months. It will start in November 2020 and run until the end of January 2021. The government is expected to pay 80% of a self-employed worker’s average trading profits over three months, capped at £7,500. For more information on the scheme, visit mirror.co.uk.
