Matt Parrett of Tax Shop Accountants discusses the measures put in place by the Government to support business during the pandemic. To watch a short video, click here

A new scheme known as the SELF EMPLOYMENT INCOME SUPPORT SCHEME was introduced on 26th March. Help is at hand for most self employed people, full details of what has been published below. Limited company "1 man bands" unfortunately do not count as self employed and will only be able to claim 80% of salary (pre March 2020, so no backdating) under the CV Job retention scheme as a furloughed employee. I understand that the self employed will still be able to work to qualify for the money, but they will need to have suffered loss as a result of the CV. There is no guidance as to how much of a loss they will have had to suffer. More will follow I am sure. But you ARE allowed to carry on working Broadly the money, payable in June at the earliest will come as a lump sum and will be based on average profits (after expenses) of the 3 years ending 5 April 2019 . It seems likely that this will be the taxable profit (i.e if you bought a van say in one of the years, that would could

Below is the government small-print on whether you can go to work, easier to read here . It seems to me that you can therefore travel to work if your work is not one that can be carried out at home. So for example it would appear therefore that if you are a self employed gardener you can travel to work to do your gardening? But for example, my accountants who can all work from home, are not allowed to travel to work. Perhaps some government examples would be useful. NEW RULES ON STAYING AT HOME AND AWAY FROM OTHERS The single most important action we can all take, in fighting coronavirus, is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS and save lives. When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection. That is why the government is now (23 March 2020) introducing three new measures. 1. Requiring people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes 2. Closing non-essential shops and community spaces 3. Stopping all gatherings of mo

The proposed role out of IR35 within the private sector has been deferred for a year until April 2021. This may be too late for many, as several contractors may already have taken permanent jobs. Please email me or call me directly for specific advice relating to your personal situation.

Businesses should be able to access loans more easily now, as the emergency scheme gives lenders 80% cover on the loan, should you fail to meet repayment terms. Updated info below on 12 months interest free and no upfront costs. Have had this from a lender: This is a business interruption loan scheme supplied by the banks to assist businesses to access working capital to assist with the day to day expenses both during the pandemic and also to assist with the post pandemic restart Loans are available from £25,000 to £5,000,000 Term of 1 to 6 years First 12 months will be a fixed rate of 0% Capital repayment holidays of 6 or 12 months are also available for the first 12 months of the loan Fee free loan (no arrangement fee, no security fee etc.) Loans of £25,000 to £100,000 will be secured by Personal Guarantees from all active directors Loans of £100,000 to £250,000 will be secured by Personal Guarantees from all active directors and a debenture from the company Loans of £250

Full details published here on the conditions for the grants for business rates paying businesses - all businesses £10,000, Retail, Hospitality and Leisure up to £25,000. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875348/small-business-grant-fund-and-retail-guidance-v2.pdf

Self explanatory - see government notes in red below Support for nursery businesses that pay business rates We will introduce a business rates holiday for nurseries in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. Eligibility You are eligible for the business rates holiday if: your business is based in England Properties that will benefit from the relief will be hereditaments: occupied by providers on Ofsted’s Early Years Register wholly or mainly used for the provision of the Early Years Foundation Stage How to access the scheme There is no action for you. This will apply to your next council tax bill in April 2020. However, local authorities may have to reissue your bill to exclude the business rate charge. They will do this as soon as possible. You can estimate the business rate charge you will no longer have to pay this year using the  business rates calculator . Further guidance for local authorities is available in the  nursery discount guidance .

Grants are being promised for businesses in these sectors, check HMRC small print. The money will be paid via the Council and you will need to have a business rates bill in the name of the business to receive the funding. There is nothing to do at this stage to claim. Support for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that pay business rates Business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses We will introduce a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England for the 2020 to 2021 tax year. Businesses that received the retail discount in the 2019 to 2020 tax year will be rebilled by their local authority as soon as possible. Eligibility You are eligible for the business rates holiday if: your business is based in England your business is in the retail, hospitality and/or leisure sector Properties that will benefit from the relief will be occupied hereditaments that are wholly or mainly being used: as shops, res

This is to be be paid for 2 weeks, so please ensure if we do your payroll that you advice us if you are off work because of Covid 19 - the government will reimburse the amount to your company Support for businesses who are paying sick pay to employees We will bring forward legislation to allow small-and medium-sized businesses and employers to reclaim Statutory Sick Pay ( SSP ) paid for sickness absence due to COVID-19. The eligibility criteria for the scheme will be as follows: this refund will cover up to 2 weeks’  SSP  per eligible employee who has been off work because of COVID-19 employers with fewer than 250 employees will be eligible - the size of an employer will be determined by the number of people they employed as of 28 February 2020 employers will be able to reclaim expenditure for any employee who has claimed  SSP  (according to the new eligibility criteria) as a result of COVID-19 employers should maintain records of staff absences and payments of  SSP , but emp

You will not need to pay your July tax bill. This will be deferred to Jan 2021. You need to be self employed for this to apply. Income Tax For Income Tax Self-Assessment, payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021. Eligibility If you are self-employed you are eligible. How to access the scheme This is an automatic offer with no applications required. No penalties or interest for late payment will be charged in the deferral period. HMRC have also scaled up their  Time to Pay offer  to all firms and individuals who are in temporary financial distress as a result of Covid-19 and have outstanding tax liabilities.

VAT payments are being deferred by 3 months. I believe that we still file returns in the usual way. This applies from now until 30 June 2020. My understanding is that you can either pay (if you can afford it) or you can cancel your payment. If you don't want to pay and have a direct debit in place, my suggestion is to make sure the DD has been cancelled. But you will need to put a diary note in place after 1 July 2020 to reinstate the DD. VAT For VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020. Eligibility All UK businesses are eligible. How to access the scheme This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the end of the 2020 to 2021 tax year to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.

Details still to follow, but businesses are to be able to reclaim 80% of furloughed workers salary costs, up to £2,500 per month. Applications will be through an online portal supposedly during the week beginning 23rd March. Effectively, rather than making staff redundant, this is a measure to keep staff employed despite not being able to afford salaries. There may well be opportunities for "1 person companies" here by increasing salaries from the current minimal one that has been advice for many years. But at this point, too early to say what to do. There is a very good article by one of the tax experts at Francis Clarke here  that has more questions than answers over this topic. So we just need to wait and see. How to access the scheme You will need to: designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers,’ and notify your employees of this change - changing the status of employees remains subject to existing employment law and, depending on the employment contract,