Newly self employed bounce back loan?

skintmam

Hi, After working for 30 years left my PAYE role in December 2019 to become self employed as a sole trader.  Am I able to apply for a bounce back loan? I use my personal Santander account but haven’t yet submitted a tax return as only been SE since jan 2020. Everything I have read suggests that a newly self employed person can claim but then they mention 2018-19 tax returns.  I’ve had to request Payment holidays on my mortgage & credit card and not sure how much longer I can sustain the loss of income.  I don’t qualify for UC as my husband is still working.  I knew going SE would be hard to begin with but wasn’t expecting a pandemic to make it harder!  I’ve lost approx £2000 per month from April.  

Thank you in advance for your help. 

Grumpy_chap

The eligibility for bounce back loans is that the business must be trading before 1st March 2020.  On that basis you sound like you should be OK.
You will need to use a projected turnover to calculate how much loan you are entitled to.

Jeremy535897

Grumpy_chap said:

The eligibility for bounce back loans is that the business must be trading before 1st March 2020.  On that basis you sound like you should be OK.
You will need to use a projected turnover to calculate how much loan you are entitled to.

Start with Santander, as you bank with them. It can be difficult, as many banks won't deal with people without business accounts who started in business after 5 April 2019.

skintmam

Thanks both, I’ll submit an application and see how I get on. I didn’t even think of opening a business account as only really get paid once a month and have minimal outgoings.   Will see what they say!   Nothing ventured, nothing gained!  

Jeremy535897

skintmam said:

Thanks both, I’ll submit an application and see how I get on. I didn’t even think of opening a business account as only really get paid once a month and have minimal outgoings.   Will see what they say!   Nothing ventured, nothing gained!  

Most banks' terms and conditions say you can't use a personal account for a business, but they have all turned a blind eye for personal accounts being used for modest businesses that don't involve lots of cash. If you only have a personal account, the banks use a feeder account, and can reject applicants when they credit check for these accounts (and probably will reject applicants who use a personal account and started the business after 5 April 2019). If they would turn you down for a feeder account, they will probably turn you down for a business account application.