Claims for the third Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant closed on 29 January 2021. Under this grant, the self-employed received up to 80% of average trading profits for November and December 2020 and January 2021. This meant that a maximum grant for the three months of £7,500 was made available to those who met the eligibility requirements.
It had previously been confirmed that a fourth SEISS grant will be made available from 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2021. The level of this grant has not yet been confirmed and details will not be announced until the Budget on 3 March 2021. Accordingly, self-employed traders will not know how much money they will receive until after the fourth grant period starts.
Under the eligibility rules for the third grant, self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, had to meet the following criteria:
- have been previously eligible for the SEISS first and second grant (although they did not have to have claimed the previous grants)
- declare that they intend to continue to trade and either are currently actively trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus or were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.
The current level of support is based on similar terms and conditions to the support offered to furloughed employees. The SEISS grants are taxable income and also subject to National Insurance contributions.
