Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

SEISS, or the Self-employment Income Support Scheme is a payment that the UK Government will send to all eligible members of the self-employed workforce who have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Who qualifies for the SEISS scheme:

There have been three iterations of the scheme. The first was announced in March 2020, the second was announced in October 2020 and the third was announced in the 2021 budget.

Here is the criteria to be eligible:

• Self-employed making under £50,000 in profits from self-employment
• Self-employed who earn over half of their income from self-employment
• HMRC will look at either the average of the last three tax years or at the 2018/19 Self Assessment when figuring out eligibility
• You need to have filed your 2019/20 Self Assessment before 2nd March 2021

How much can I get from SEISS?

March Scheme

Grant #1

Covered 80% of your self-employment profits for three months

A maximum of £2,500 (so a lump sum of up to £7,500)

Apply before 13th July 2020

Grant #2

Covered 70% of your self-employment profits, also for three months

A maximum lump sum of £6,570

Apply before August 2020

October Scheme

Grant #1

Covered 80% of your self-employment profits for three months

A maximum of £7,500

Apply before 19th October 2020

March Scheme

Grant #1

Covered 80% of your self-employment profits for three months

A maximum of £7,500

Apply in April 2021

Grant #2:

Covers May, June and July

Details to be announced later in the year

Other things to keep in mind:

You don’t need to pay this money back

You’ll have to pay Income Tax and National Insurance, just as you would on any other self-employment income (you’ll declare this grant on your next Self Assessment tax return