SEISS grant 4

greentuber

I am self employed and some of my work is on a camp site, From mid February I do work there every week, but because the camp sites were not allowed to open until 8th April I lost 7 weeks which is a total of £385. Some other domestic work I lost because it was inside work and I lost another £90.
I also did not pick up any new clients during February and March. There may have been other work I did  not get because of the restrictions.
So there has been a reduced capacity and demand/activity due to Covid-19 but I do not know if this counts as a significant reduction.
As far as I can tell the grant would be for £1004 taking my average profits from the last 3 years.

Jeremy535897

You look at average profits for the four years 2016/17 to 2019/20, unless your trade started after 5 April 2017. Your grant figure suggests annual profits of £5,020. You have lost a minimum of 9.5% and probably a bit more. I would say that, based on the percentage involved and the actual amounts involved, it is borderline as to whether it is significant or not, but that is very personal to you. If that was your sole income, it might be the difference between heating your home or not over winter.

greentuber

I was unemployed in 2017 and started my business in January 2018 so have 3 months earnings of that tax year which were about £1500. The other 2 tax years profits are 6500 and 7000.
It is my sole income and I have only had my heating on in November, December, and January.
In November 2020 I started matched betting and have made some extra income from that but I understand it is classed as gambling.

Jeremy535897

It is your decision as to whether to claim, but I would do so if I had no other income, as I think that the figures you quote are significant for you. Matched betting is perhaps rather unusual if you can only heat your home for 3 months a year, as it is risky, but it almost never counts as income.

greentuber

Jeremy535897 said:

It is your decision as to whether to claim, but I would do so if I had no other income, as I think that the figures you quote are significant for you. Matched betting is perhaps rather unusual if you can only heat your home for 3 months a year, as it is risky, but it almost never counts as income.

Thank-you for the replies.
2020/2021 profits are £7400. Winter months are always lower income than summer months but if I were to divide 7400 by 4 I would get 1850 x 80% = 1480. During February, March and April I lost approx 475 maybe more.
That is about 33% for the 4th grant period.

JJC1956

Hi, HMRC will add up your total net profit for 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 irrespective of the fact that you started your business in January 2018, they will then divide the total (£15,000) across the 3 years (average £5,000 per annum), then divide by 12 (£416) x 3 months (£1,250) x 80 % = £1,000 Grant.
HMRC is not interested in seasonal fluctuations, only annual accounts.
PS Are you entitled to Universal Credit?

greentuber

JJC1956 said:

Hi, HMRC will add up your total net profit for 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 irrespective of the fact that you started your business in January 2018, they will then divide the total (£15,000) across the 3 years (average £5,000 per annum), then divide by 12 (£416) x 3 months (£1,250) x 80 % = £1,000 Grant.
HMRC is not interested in seasonal fluctuations, only annual accounts.
PS Are you entitled to Universal Credit?

Hi and thanks for explaining how the amount of the grant is calculated.
I mentioned seasonal fluctuations because the 4th grant is to cover the months of February, March and April 2021.
In that period I lost approx £475, the majority (not all, maybe 80%) of those losses due to Covid-19 were from mid February (when the camp site usually opens) to early April (when the camp site was allowed to open).

JJC1956

greentuber said:

JJC1956 said:

Hi, HMRC will add up your total net profit for 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 irrespective of the fact that you started your business in January 2018, they will then divide the total (£15,000) across the 3 years (average £5,000 per annum), then divide by 12 (£416) x 3 months (£1,250) x 80 % = £1,000 Grant.
HMRC is not interested in seasonal fluctuations, only annual accounts.
PS Are you entitled to Universal Credit?

Hi and thanks for explaining how the amount of the grant is calculated.
I mentioned seasonal fluctuations because the 4th grant is to cover the months of February, March and April 2021.
In that period I lost approx £475, the majority (not all, maybe 80%) of those losses due to Covid-19 were from mid February (when the camp site usually opens) to early April (when the camp site was allowed to open).

Hi, the grant payment is supposed to be for self employed people to cover their outgoings during Feb/Mar/Apr, nothing to do with your income, even though you might have to reassess your application when Grant No 5 comes along

TBagpuss

The criteria is that
- you have been adversely affected due to Covid - (it sounds as though you have, as work has been unavailable)
- suffered reduced capacity, income or demand  in the period 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2021; (again, sounds like you did as campsites were closed)
- you must reasonably believe that you will suffer a significant reduction in trading profits for a ‘relevant basis period’' compared to what you would have reasonably expected if you had not suffered that reduced activity, capacity or demand. (again, you've already noted that you have lost money)

The 5th grant is likely to require a specify % fall in profit but the 4th doesn't specify. 
The system will automatically calculate how much you are entitled to - this may be more or less than you yourself feel you have lost as it's looking at the year as a whole - it's not, for most people, going to exactly replace their earnings. It sounds as though you may end up getting a bit more than you feel you've lost . That's not uncommon - and equally there will be some who get less than they've lost, or miss out all together.

If you feel that you've been overcompensated you can chose to replay some of the grant voluntarily to HMRC, or you could chose to make a donation to a foodbank or other charity to assist those who feel through the cracks, or you can see it as a windfall.


 

greentuber

Thank-you both for the replies. Much appreciated.
I did listen to an HMRC webinar last week but was still uncertain if my losses were "significant".
TBagpuss, I certainly was adversely affected and did suffer reduced capacity, trading profits were reduced until April 5th.
Sorry I did not answer your previous question JJ1956, I am not claiming Universal Credit, I am in receipt of £54 a week working tax credits, no other benefits. I pay my own council tax.
I wont be claiming the 5th grant now the weekly work at the campsite has started up. I think it accounts for about 25% of my annual income.