SEISS Application

bullit822000

Good afternoon, I am looking for some advice on application for the second SEISS window that will open on the 17th August. I am self employed with an average income of around £14,000.00 per annum for the past 6 years or so. However in tax year 2016/ 2017 I was on maternity for the majority of the year after having twins, I did do a bit of work and submitted a tax return for an income of £2650.00. This has been taken into account when working out my average payment for the SEISS payments, and had almost cut my payment from what was expected in half. Feels unfair that this should be taken into account as from the last 10 years of my accounts this can be seen as an abnormal year. I have called HMRC numerous times and been told that this cannot be changed, however I have been getting mixed messaged from the operators when calling. When I apply for the next window can I base my income on my 2018/2019 year tax return, or am I forced to use the three year average. Thank you

Jeremy535897

Unfortunately the change in the rules to help mothers on maternity only apply if the tax year affected was 2018/19, so your second grant (assuming you meet all the eligibility criteria) will be based on the same calculation as for the first grant.

bullit822000

Thanks for the reply. I am obviously grateful to be getting some sort of payment, but it just seems unfair and making things extremely tricky at the moment.

macman

You may well think it unfair, but the SEISS scheme was devised so that it could be quickly assessed, calculated and paid using the existing SA tax data held by HMRC. In that respect, it can be judged a considerable success (and the government didn't have to throw taxpayer's money away on using outsourced consultants, as it was all devised in-house).
Unfortunately, the 3 year average model has disadvantaged some people (myself included), but a system that allowed for 'abnormal years' and other quirks simply could not have delivered the results it did in such a short period of time, with 2.6m claims paid out under the first phase.
Have you considered other options to boost your income, such as a Bounce Back Loan? This will be based on your 2019 turnover (calendar year, not tax year), so you could apply for an interest free (1st 12m) loan of up to £3.5K (25% of turnover).