The eligibility criteria for the fourth grant remains largely unchanged from the third grant, with the exceptions that an individual must:
• Have submitted their tax return for 2019-20 by no later than 2 March 2021 • Have trading profits that are at least nil (not a trading loss), based on their tax return for 2019-20, or an average of the tax years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 • Have trading profits that do not exceed £50,000 and are at least equivalent to their non-trading income, based on their tax return for 2019-20, or an average of the tax years 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 • Have been trading in both tax years 2019-20 and 2020-21
Full eligibility criteria information is available on GOV.UK.
From mid-April, an online eligibility checker will be made available, and will confirm eligibility but will not provide a reason where an individual is ineligible. Individuals will be required to sign- in to their Government Gateway account to locate the reason, as this is personal information.
How to claim for the fourth grant
Any potentially eligible customers will be contacted from mid-April 2021 and provided with a personal claim date. They will then be able to claim at any point between their personal claim date, up until the date at which the claims service closes, which will be on 31 May 2021.
There has been no change to the fact that agents cannot submit claims on behalf of their clients. Agents are advised to refrain from doing so, as this will trigger a fraud alert, and result in substantial delays to clients receiving payment.
Upcoming customer contact
If HMRC needs to make additional checks in relation to an individual’s eligibility, then they will write to them to explain that they will be receiving a phone call, in which they will be asked to provide proof of identity and evidence of trade. When making these calls, the telephone number that HMRC holds for that individual will be used. Where this is the number of an agent, HMRC will request the client’s contact number to liaise with them directly.
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From 1 April 2021, SSP will no longer be payable to individuals who are shielding 30 March 2021
The Department of Health & Social Care recently issued a letter to all individuals on the Shielded Patient List, which provided updated guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable people, to take effect from 1 April 2021.
The letter advises that, as of 1 April 2021, people will no longer be eligible for either Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) solely on the basis of being instructed to shield. Individuals may, however, be eligible for SSP or ESA if they are sick or unable to work, either due to coronavirus or wider health reasons, provided they meet the other eligibility criteria. As of 16 April 2020, employers could start to pay SSP from the first qualifying day that an employee was off work, where they were ‘shielding’ due to coronavirus, as opposed to from the fourth qualifying day. This arrangement will, however, soon come to an end. It was confirmed at the Spring Budget 2021 that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) will be extended, to now close on 30 September 2021. Individuals previously advised to shield may remain eligible for the CJRS and can be placed on furlough if their employer agrees.
Please note that, at the time of writing, employers must only pay SSP to employees for shielding if they live in Scotland. Shielding has stopped in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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