Chartered Accountants
Following the PM’s announcement that the country is entering it’s third lockdown, the chancellor has announced a support package of £4.5bn – with grants of up to £9,000 per property.
We will issue updates regarding eligibility and when claims can be made once we receive further guidelines from the government along with any updates to the current support packages available.
The government announced on 8th July 2020 that they are introducing a one-off payment of £1,000 to UK employers for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to the end of January 2021. Employees must earn above the Lower Earnings Limit (£520 per month) on average between the end of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the end of January 2021. Payments will be made from February 2021.
Further detail about the scheme will be announced by the end of July.
For the full HMRC guidelines click here
The coronavirus bounce back loan is now available for small and medium-sized businesses affected by coronavirus (COVID-19).
The scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.
The government guarantees 100% of the loan and there won’t be any fees or interest to pay for the first 12 months.
Loan terms will be up to 6 years. No repayments will be due during the first 12 months.
The scheme will be delivered through a network of accredited lenders.
If your business has been affected by COVID-19 and the loan will be beneficial to your business check out the government website for full details on eligibility by clicking on this button.
This scheme is applicable to sole traders and members of a partnership
The government have introduced a scheme which will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for the next 3 months.
The temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme supports SMEs with access to loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance of up to £5 million and for up to 6 years.
The government will also make a Business Interruption Payment to cover the first 12 months of interest payments and any lender-levied fees, so smaller businesses will benefit from no upfront costs and lower initial repayments.
The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to pre-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The scheme will be delivered through commercial lenders, backed by the government-owned British Business Bank.
There are 40 accredited lenders able to offer the scheme, including all the major banks.
You are eligible for the scheme if:
The scheme is now open for applications. All major banks are offering this scheme.
To apply, you should talk to your bank or one of the 40 accredited finance providers (not the British Business Bank) as soon as possible, to discuss your business plan. You can find out the latest on the best ways to contact them via their websites. Please note that branches may currently be shut down to enable social distancing.
The full rules of the scheme and the list of accredited lenders are available on the British Business Bank website.
If you have an existing loan with monthly repayments you may want to ask for a repayment holiday to help with cash flow.
As part of the recent government action against COVID-19 the government announced on the 23rd March 2020 that all retailers that sell non-essential goods and other non-essential premises were to close as part of the increased measures to promote social distancing.
For the latest list we have attached a PDF summary. Please click here. [Last updated 25th March 2020]
To check for the most recent updates we recommend that you view the HMRC website using the following link
The government are to introduce a scheme of Statutory Self-Employment Pay that will be made available to individuals who are self-employed or freelancers.
The government have announced they will set out their plan to help the self-employed during the daily Coronavirus broadcast on 26th March 2020
Please check back for further information…
Payments due on the 31 July 2020 will be deferred until the 31 January 2021.
Eligibility
Applies to all taxpayers due to pay a second payment on account
How to access the scheme
This is an automatic offer with no applications required.
HMRC have stated that if you are able to make the July payment to avoid a larger payment in January 2021 then you should do so.
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.
Self assessment tax returns should still be filed by their due date and it may be advantageous to file your 2019/20 return as soon as possible after 5 April 2020.
In order to ease the cash flow burden on businesses in the coming weeks, HMRC have announced that they will temporarily defer VAT payments
When?
The deferral will apply from 20th March 2020 until 30th 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.
Please note: It is only the VAT payment that is deferred. VAT registered businesses must still submit their VAT returns before the relevant deadline.