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The Budget 2021 – What Does it Mean for Self Employed?

mike@gosimpletax

Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday unveiled the nations finance plan in the Budget 2021. British Expat Money take a look at what this means for the self-employed.

Budget 2021 Key announcements
  • Two further SEISS grants will be paid to the self-employed in 2021;
  • 600,000 of the newly self-employed will become eligible for the SEISS grants;
  • The furlough scheme is to be extended until the end of September; employers will have to contribute 10% in July and 20% in August and September;
  • The £20 uplift in Universal Credit will be extended for another six months;
  • VAT for hospitality firms will remain at 5% until September, followed by an interim rate of 12.5% for six months;
  • The business rates holiday has been extended until June and business rates will then be discounted for nine months;
  • Non-essential retail businesses are to get re-opening grants of up to £6,000 per premises;
  • Hospitality and leisure businesses (that are set to open later) will be eligible for grants worth up to £18,000.

Mike Parkes, a Director at GoSimpleTax had this to say.

‘As expected, SEISS grant four was confirmed, topped up by SEISS grant five that will run until September 2021. To apply the self-employed must have filed their 2019/20 no later than the 2 March 2021. Whilst there are no increases to income tax rates, from April 2022 the personal tax allowances and bands will be frozen until 2026.’

SEISS fourth and fifth grant

‘At the Budget it was confirmed that the fourth SEISS grant will be set at 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, capped at £7,500. The fourth grant will take into account 2019 to 2020 tax returns and will be open to those who became self-employed in tax year 2019 to 2020. The rest of the eligibility criteria remain unchanged.’

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HMRC continue to say,

‘Your eligibility for the scheme will now be based on your submitted 2019 to 2020 tax return. This may also affect the amount of the fourth grant which could be higher or lower than previous grants you may have received.’ You can read more on the fourth and fifth grant here via .Gov

About GoSimpleTax

GoSimpleTax software submits directly to HMRC and is the solution for self-employed sole traders and anyone with income outside of PAYE to log all their income and expenses. The software will provide you with hints and tips that could save you money on allowances and expenses you may have missed.

Try for free – add up to five income and expense transactions per month and see your tax liability in real time at no cost to you. Pay only when you are ready to submit or use other key features such as receipt uploading.

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