Please see below for the full list of support currently available for self-employed people.

*THIS WAS UPDATED ON 27th MARCH 2020*

The new Government  scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months.

Who can apply

You can apply if you’re a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:

• have submitted your Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19
• traded in the tax year 2019-20
• are trading when you apply, or would be except for COVID-19
• intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020-21
• have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19

Your self-employed trading profits must also be less than £50,000 and more than half of your income come from self-employment.

If you have not submitted your Income Tax Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, you must do this by 23 April 2020.

• HMRC will use data on 2018-19 returns already submitted to identify those eligible and will risk assess any late returns filed before the 23 April 2020 deadline in the usual way.

How much you’ll get

• You’ll get a taxable grant which will be 80% of the average profits from the tax years (where applicable):
• To work out the average HMRC will add together the total trading profit for the 3 tax years (where applicable) then divide by 3 (where applicable), and use this to calculate a monthly amount.
• It will be up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for 3 months.
• We’ll pay the grant directly into your bank account, in one instalment.

How to apply

• You cannot apply for this scheme yet.
• HMRC will contact you if you are eligible for the scheme and invite you to apply online.
• Individuals do not need to contact HMRC now and doing so will only delay the urgent work being undertaken to introduce the scheme.

Further support is available before the new June installment.  

• Income Tax payments due in July 2020 under the Self-Assessment system will be deferred to January 2021. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period.
• Changes to the way freelancers and contractors are classified for tax purposes, under the IR35 or ‘off-payroll’ reforms, have been deferred by 12 months.
• If you are a ‘gig-economy’ or zero hours contract worker you may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay – Check your eligibility.
• If you are not entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, you may be eligible for benefits such as the Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit.
• ESA can be paid if you are sick, isolating according to government advice, or caring for a sick or isolating child.
• ESA will be claimable from day one, rather than day eight of sickness.
• ESA pays up to £73/week and is not impacted by a partner’s income, though it may be affected by a claimant’s personal pension.
• Self-employed claimants on Universal Credit who are required to stay at home or are ill will not have a Minimum Income Floor (an assumed level of income) applied for a period of time while affected
• Please contact Jobcentre Plus for claims for either Universal Credit or ESA.