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Budget 2021: Self-employed to get fourth grant of £7,500, Rishi Sunak reveals
SELF-EMPLOYED workers will get a fourth coronavirus grant worth £7,500, Rishi Sunak has confirmed today.
The Chancellor revealed the plans for the fourth grant - saying a fifth and final grant will come into play from May as part of his Budget in the Commons today.
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The grants will cover lost earnings through February, March and April before extending from May to September as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
Speaking in the Commons today, Mr Sunak said: "We will continue to do whatever it takes to support the British people."
He later added: "An important moment is upon us. A moment of challenge and of change. Of difficulties, yes, but of possibilities too. This is a Budget that meets that moment."
Under the grant, those whose turnover has fallen by 30% or more will continue to receive the full 80% grant.
People whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will therefore have less need of taxpayer support and will receive a 30% grant.
In today's budget, the Chancellor announced that the fourth grant will be worth £7,500 and that applications will be open shortly.
It will mean more than 600,000 individuals could be newly eligible for the assistance.
Like the previous payouts, the grants will be part of the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS).
Meanwhile, the value of the fifth grant will be determined by a turnover test, to ensure that support is targeted at those who need it the most as the economy reopens.
People whose turnover has fallen by less than 30% will receive a 30% grant, capped at £2,850. The final grant can be claimed from late July.
How do I apply for the self-employment grant?
EXACTLY how self-employed workers can claim the next coronavirus grant is yet to be confirmed.
For the previous grant, you made your claim via the once they opened for applications.
Self-employed workers needed the following info to claim:
- For Self-assessment unique taxpayer reference (UTR) – if you do not have this
- National insurance number – if you do not have this
- Government Gateway user ID and password – if you do not have a user ID, you can create one when you make your claim
- UK bank details (only provide bank account details where a Bacs payment can be accepted.
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The Chancellor also confirmed a fifth payment for self-employed workers, as well as an extension to furlough until September.
It's likely the cash payouts will only be available to workers who meet a certain criteria to acknowledge that some businesses will have had to stay shut through the third national lockdown.
Up to three million self-employed workers were not eligible for the first three grants.
Only people who had filed a 2018-2019 self-assessment tax return could apply as the Government looked for ways to avoid widespread fraud.
Self-employed workers who are company directors or run their businesses as limited companies were also unable to apply.
Ahead of the announcement, there had been speculation that the scheme could be ditched or drastically scaled back from May when lockdown restrictions are expected to be eased.
It's not clear when self-employed workers will be able to claim the cash but applications could open in the coming days.
For the first three grants, applications did not open until weeks into the period that the grant covered.
For example, applications for the second grant opened on August 17 despite it covering the three-month period from July 14.
MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis has previously criticised the Government for not failing to share details of the fourth payment earlier than the Budget.
Martin Lewis said the delay “stops them planning, stops them budgeting, stops them having legitimate expectations."
He added: "One can only hope the reason for this cruel delay is because there are substantial changes being made that can help more people.";
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