Guidance for self-employed

The Government's Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which will be of benefit to a number of equestrian sector workers, has been extended for a further six months. Two further grants have been added, each available for three-month periods covering November 2020 to January 2021 and February 2021 to April 2021. Applicants will receive a single taxable grant worth 80% of the average profits they would make over a three-month period, up to a total of £7,500, paid directly into their bank accounts. The online service for claiming the next grant will be available from 30 November. 

The grants will be available to anyone who meets all the criteria:

•  Be self-employed or a member of partnership
•  Have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19
•  File a tax return for 2018-19 as self-employed or a member of a trading partnership. Those who have not yet filed for 2018-19 will have an additional four weeks from this announcement to do so
•  Have traded in 2019-20; be currently trading at the point of application (or would be except for COVID 19) and intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
•  Have trading profits of less than £50,000 and more than half of your total income come from self-employment. This can be with reference to at least one of the following conditions:
  •  Your trading profits and total income in 2018/19
  •  Your average trading profits and total income across up to the three years between 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19

Businesses set up since April 2019 won’t be eligible as there will be no filed tax return on record. For these new start-ups, there is other help available such as Universal Credit if you hold savings below £16,000 and business continuity loans where they have a business bank account.

What do you need to do to access a grant?

HMRC will contact you directly and you’ll have to fill out a form to indicate your business has been impacted by the pandemic. You can also make your claim online by clicking here. 

To check if you're eligable to receive the grant, click here.