Claim a grant through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

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16th July 2020

If you’re self-employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) use this scheme if you’re eligible to claim the grant.

The scheme is now closed to new claims for the first grant.

The scheme has been extended. If you were eligible for the first grant and can confirm to HMRC that your business has been adversely affected on or after 14 July 2020, you’ll be able to make a claim for a second and final grant from 17 August 2020.

You can make a claim for the second and final grant if you’re eligible, even if you did not make a claim for the first grant.

What you’ll need
You’ll need your:

Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)

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) including:

bank account number
sort code
name on the account
your address linked to your bank account

How to claim
The online service is not available yet. If you’re eligible you’ll be able to make a claim for a second and final grant from 17 August 2020. HMRC will contact you if you’re eligible.

HMRC will check claims and take appropriate action to withhold or recover payments found to be dishonest or inaccurate. If you know you’ve been overpaid or are not eligible for the grant and do not tell us you may have to pay a penalty.

Return to your claim
You can:

check the status of your payment

update your bank details if we have asked you to

After you’ve claimed

HMRC will check your claim and pay your grant into your bank account in the next 6 working days. We will send an email when your payment is on its way.

Do not contact HMRC unless it has been more than 10 working days since you made your claim and you have not received your payment in that time.

If your business recovers after you’ve claimed, your eligibility will not be affected. You must keep evidence to confirm your business was adversely affected at the time you made your claim.

What happens next

If you think you’ve been overpaid, or are not eligible for the grant
Tell HMRC and pay back the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant if you:

think you’ve been overpaid
were not eligible for the grant
want to make a voluntary repayment
You should tell us as soon as possible if you know you’ve been overpaid or are not eligible for the grant. You may have to pay a penalty if you do not tell us. Sign up for email alerts for any changes to this page.

If you think the grant amount is too low
We have used the information you or your tax agent or adviser sent us on your Self Assessment tax returns to work out your grant amount.

If you think the grant amount is too low, you should check how much you’ll get or contact your tax agent or adviser for help.

If you still think the grant amount is too low, you or your agent can ask HMRC to review your grant amount.

You or your agent will need:

your grant claim reference
your National Insurance number
the Unique Taxpayer Reference you used on your claim
details about why you think the grant amount is too low
the Government Gateway user ID you used to make a claim
If you’re a tax agent or adviser asking for a review on your client’s behalf, you must use your own Government Gateway user ID.

You may also need the figures HMRC gave you in the grant calculation when you made your claim.

Record keeping and reporting
You must keep a copy of all records in line with normal self-employment record keeping requirements, including the:

amount claimed
grant claim reference
You should also keep any evidence that your business has been adversely affected by coronavirus at the time you made your claim, such as:

business accounts showing a reduction in turnover
confirmation of any coronavirus-related business loans you have received
dates your business had to close due to lockdown restrictions
dates you or your staff were unable to work due to coronavirus symptoms, shielding or caring responsibilities
You will need to report both grants:

on your Self Assessment tax return for tax year 2020 to 2021
as self-employed income for any Universal Credit claims
as self-employed income as changes to your tax credits claims
The grant should be treated as income received on the day it’s paid for any Universal Credit claims or tax credit changes.

The grant does not need to be repaid but will be subject to Income Tax and self-employed National Insurance from the day you receive it.

Contacting HMRC
You should first check the other support available to you.

HMRC are receiving very high numbers of calls. Contacting HMRC unnecessarily puts our essential public services at risk during these challenging times.

But you can contact HMRC if you cannot get the help you need online.