Self Employed: Will any Universal Credit received be deducted from the Government 80% Grant

RC

I am Self Employed and in June I can apply for the Government Grant of 80% of what I earned on average over the previous 3 tax years.  If I apply for Universal Credit now to tie me over until I receive the grant, I assume the amount I received from Universal Credit will be deducted from the above Government Grant.  Please can somebody confirm.

Jeremy535897

Please just use the ordinary font in posts. Your assumption is, fortunately, incorrect, but the receipt of the grant will affect your UC in the month of receipt and possibly beyond.

petercox

I haven't yet applied for Universal Credit as I thought the same, that claiming it would affect the SEISS. I am still confused though. I understand that the SEISS will affect future payments from Universal Credit which I am perfectly ok with. However does this mean I will end up having to pay back all the money from Universal Credit, especially as the SEISS will be backdated to March? I don't want to claim the credit if I am then going to have to pay it all back but at the same time I don't want to lose out by not claiming and be worse off.

Jeremy535897

petercox said:

I haven't yet applied for Universal Credit as I thought the same, that claiming it would affect the SEISS. I am still confused though. I understand that the SEISS will affect future payments from Universal Credit which I am perfectly ok with. However does this mean I will end up having to pay back all the money from Universal Credit, especially as the SEISS will be backdated to March? I don't want to claim the credit if I am then going to have to pay it all back but at the same time I don't want to lose out by not claiming and be worse off.

You only repay UC if your claim is invalid. If you take an advance you obviously have to repay that. SEISS will probably stop UC in the month you get it and possibly the following month, and if you just stick it in the bank it could reduce UC because of the savings limits, but I doubt that's a problem for most people.

calcotti

We have covered this in numerous threads already
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme

You can make a claim for Universal Credit while you wait for the grant. You should record the grant as part of your self-employment income, and it may affect the amount of Universal Credit you get. This will not affect Universal Credit claims for earlier periods.

https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/new-to-universal-credit/self-employment/

Self-employment Income Support Scheme
The Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will support self-employed individuals (including members of partnerships) whose income has been negatively impacted by coronavirus. The scheme will provide a grant to self-employed individuals or partnerships, worth 80% of their profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month. Read more about eligibility for SEISS
You should not contact HMRC about accessing SEISS now. HMRC will use existing information to check potential eligibility and invite applications once the scheme is operational.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme will be treated as earnings in Universal Credit. Your Universal Credit payment will adjust in response to changes in your earnings.

petercox

Thank you both for your answers. I am still not sure if I should claim UC though. My understanding is that when the government pays the SEISS in June, the payment will be back dated to cover March, April and May. As I would also be making a UC claim for this period would this not mean I will be required to pay back the UC as both the UC and SEISS will have been claimed for the same period?

poppy12345

petercox said:

Thank you both for your answers. I am still not sure if I should claim UC though. My understanding is that when the government pays the SEISS in June, the payment will be back dated to cover March, April and May. As I would also be making a UC claim for this period would this not mean I will be required to pay back the UC as both the UC and SEISS will have been claimed for the same period?

As has already been advised, you won't have to pay back any UC if you decide to claim it. Your UC will only be affected in the month you receive the grant.

Jeremy535897

UC works on a cash basis. It doesn't matter for UC whether the payment covers three months or three years. All that is relevant is when it is paid to you.

calcotti

petercox said:

 As I would also be making a UC claim for this period would this not mean I will be required to pay back the UC as both the UC and SEISS will have been claimed for the same period?

Please refer to my previous post? I highlighted the relevant text in the guidance when I posted. "This will not affect Universal Credit claims for earlier periods."

petercox

So if I receive the grant in June even though it is back dated to March when the UC is being claimed for I won't owe the UC because I will be paid the SEISS in June? I'm still confused

Jeremy535897

petercox said:

So if I receive the grant in June even though it is back dated to March when the UC is being claimed for I won't owe the UC because I will be paid the SEISS in June? I'm still confused

Forget what period the grant relates to. If it related to 44 BC or a million years in the future the answer is still the same. It counts for UC when you are paid it.