Submit August claims, prepare for closure of the Job Retention Scheme and the latest on SEISS

Dear PAYadvice.UK ,

I’m writing to you with the latest information about the support schemes available to help your clients, as part of the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs.

This includes a reminder of the 14‌‌th September 2021 deadline for submitting your clients’ August Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims, information to help you and your clients prepare for the scheme closing on 30‌‌th September 2021, and the latest on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

To find out what other financial support may be available for your clients during this time:

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1. Submit CJRS claims for August

Thank you if you’ve submitted your client’s August furlough claims already. If you haven’t submitted them yet, you must do so by the deadline of Tuesday‌‌ ‌14th Sept‌‌ember 2021.

For August and September, employers can claim 60% of furloughed employees’ usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £1,875 per month per employee. They’ll need to contribute 20% from their own funds so that furloughed employees continue to be paid at least 80% of their usual wages in total, for the hours they do not work (up to a cap of £2,500 a month).

What you or your clients need to do now

• work out how much they can claim, and the contribution they’ll need to make to reach 80% of usual wages at ‘Job Retention Scheme‘
• submit any claims for August, no later than Tuesday‌‌ ‌14‌‌th September 2021
• keep records supporting the grants they claim, in case we need to check them
• make sure they continue paying CJRS-related employee tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC, and contact us if they’re struggling to pay
• prepare for the scheme closing on‌‌ ‌30‌‌th September 2021.

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2. Preparing for the end of the CJRS – frequently asked questions

As the CJRS closes on 30‌‌th September 2021, your clients will be thinking about next steps for their employees and their business.

You can find everything you and your clients need to know see CJRS, and here are the most frequently asked questions currently from employers:

What should my client do when the scheme closes? 
 
Your client will need to:

• bring their employees back to work on their agreed terms and conditions
• agree any changes to their terms and conditions with them, or
• consider ending their employment.

When making decisions about how and when to end furlough arrangements, equality and discrimination laws will apply in the usual way. For more information see ‘Job Retention Scheme‘.

When is my client’s last claim for the CJRS?

The last day that your clients will be able to claim for is 30‌‌ ‌September. Final claims for September must be submitted by Thursday‌‌ ‌14‌‌ ‌October.

Can my client claim CJRS for employees on notice periods?

Employers cannot claim CJRS grants for any days an employee is serving a contractual or statutory notice period, including notice of retirement, resignation or redundancy.

What support is available for my client’s employees if they’re unable to bring them back to work?

There’s UK Government support available for employees through the JobHelp website, offering a range of support, training and advice, to help people find their next opportunity. This includes the Kickstart scheme and other Plan for Jobs support measures, along with advice on learning new skills and sectors which are recruiting. See ‘Plan for Jobs programmes‘ for more information.

Normal redundancy rules and protections apply to furloughed employees – see ‘redundancy rules’ for more information.

What support is available to help my client’s business grow after the CJRS has closed?

If your client is looking to grow their business, the UK Government Help to Grow scheme offers management and digital programmes, to help them learn new skills and reach more customers. To register their interest, see ‘Help to Grow‘.

If employers are considering taking on new employees, there’s a range of UK Government support available to help them, including placements, apprenticeships and training opportunities. See ‘Plan for Jobs programmes for employers’ to find out how your client’s business could benefit.

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3. SEISS

If your clients are eligible for the latest SEISS grant they have until 30th‌‌ ‌September 2021 to apply. Thank you for helping clients who have already made a claim. If you need to support them through the online service, see ‘HMRC supporting your clients with their claim‘ on YouTube for a step-by-step video.

Reporting SEISS grants on tax returns

SEISS grants are taxable and subject to National Insurance contributions, your clients should report any SEISS grants they received on or before 5th April 2021 on their 2020-21 Self Assessment tax return (filing deadline of 31‌‌st January‌‌ ‌2022).

For most customers, this means they need to report the first, second and third grants on their 2020-2021 Self Assessment if they were paid on or before 5th April 2021. The fourth and fifth grants should not be included in 2020-2021 returns, as these were paid after 5th April 2021, and should instead go on your clients’ 2021-2022 return (filing deadline of 31‌‌st January‌‌ ‌2023).

Calculating turnover as a member of a partnership 

We have been asked about customers who joined a partnership between April 2020 and April 2021. If your clients are in this situation, they need to work out their percentage share of the partnership’s turnover. It will be the same percentage of profit they took from the partnership in the 12-month period from April 2020 to April 2021. If customers have other businesses, they should add their percentage share of the partnership to the turnover from these.

What not to include when calculating turnover for the fifth grant 

Anything reported as ‘any other income’ on tax returns should not be included when calculating turnover for the fifth SEISS grant. This includes things such as Universal Credit, maternity allowances, retirement income and foreign income.

Your clients should also not include any previous coronavirus (COVID-19) support payments in their turnover, even though the payments may be taxable when calculating profit. COVID-19 support payments include:

• previous SEISS grants
• Eat Out to Help Out payments
• local authority or devolved administration grants

See ‘work out your turnover‘ for more information.

Paying back SEISS grants into the right account

We’re noticing an increase in customers using the wrong HMRC bank account when repaying some, or all, of their SEISS grants. Please ask your clients to check that they are using the right HMRC bank account information – the details will be in our most recent contact to them about their voluntary repayments.

If your client was making voluntary SEISS repayments but has since received an Officer’s Assessment from us, they should update their payment method and pay into the HMRC account given on that letter.

Software issue now resolved

From mid-August, some commercial accounting software was recording SEISS grant values incorrectly (this was an issue with an individual income Application Programming Interface (API)). A fix was in place by 31‌‌st August 2021 and the issue is now resolved.

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4. A word about scams

We are urging customers to be careful if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information. We continue to see high numbers of fraudsters calling, emailing or texting customers claiming to be from HMRC.

If in doubt, we advise you not to reply directly to anything suspicious, but to contact HMRC straight away, see ‘HMRC scams‘.

The National Cyber Security Centre has a helpful guide on how to stay secure online and protect yourself or your business against cyber crime, which you can find by searching ‘Cyber Aware‘.

PAYadvice.UK 7/9/2021