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Latest Government Support Updates

There have been a few important updates from the Government in the last few weeks that we wanted to highlight and summarise for you.

Lockdown grant package
• The Government has announced a new £4.6 billion package of grants to support businesses through the latest national lockdown
• Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors are to be given one-off grants worth up to £9,000
• A further £594 million will be made available to councils and devolved nations to support businesses not covered by the new grants
• The one-off top-ups will be granted to closed businesses as follows:  
    o £4,000 for businesses with a rateable value of £15,000 or under
    o £6,000 for businesses with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
    o £9,000 for businesses with a rateable value of over £51,000
• Any business which is legally required to close, and which cannot operate effectively remotely, is eligible for a grant
• Further information on these grants, and when they will be available, will be released by your local council in due course

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS)
• To make a claim for the third grant the taxpayer’s business must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between the 1st November 2020 and the 29th January 2021, which they reasonably believe will have a significant reduction in their profits
• The third taxable grant is worth 80% of a taxpayer’s average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total
• The deadline for claiming the third SEISS grant is 29th January 2021

VAT deferral
• Many businesses took advantage of the VAT deferral window, for VAT payments to HMRC which were due to be paid between the 20th March 2020 and the 30th June 2020
• Businesses must either pay the deferred VAT in full by the 31st March 2021 or opt in to the new VAT deferral payment scheme
• This deferred payment scheme allows businesses to pay their previously deferred VAT payment in up to 11 smaller monthly payments
• No interest will be charged on the payments and the instalments must be paid in full by the end of March 2022
• In order for businesses to use the scheme they must:
     o still have deferred VAT to pay
     o be up to date with their VAT returns
     o opt in before the end of March 2021
     o pay the first instalment before the end of March 2021
     o be able to pay the deferred VAT by Direct Debit
• The opt-in process will open in the next few weeks and must be completed by the business themselves (agents aren’t able to do this unfortunately). As such please do make sure you have access to your Government Gateway account in advance of this registration window opening

Other matters
• As you may have seen, the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) has been extended until the end of April 2021
• The application deadline for the CBILS loans and the Bounce Back loans has also been extended to the 31st March 2021
• The 2021 budget will be delivered by the Chancellor on the 3rd March 2021

Whilst we cannot offer meetings in person at present, we are very much open for business remotely and ready to assist with any issues you may have.

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