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There is going to be a fifth SEISS grant. A couple of weeks ago, HMRC sent out an email explaining how it would work this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThere is going to be a fifth SEISS grant. A couple of weeks ago, HMRC sent out an email explaining how it would work this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bear in mind that the SEISS is not – absolutely not<\/strong> – just for driving instructors. That important distinction makes how you interpret the email rather important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The email makes it clear that the fifth SEISS will be granted depending on how much your 2020\/21 turnover has reduced compared to previously. It also makes it crystal clear that you do not have to have submitted a return for 2020\/21 (not due until the end of January 2022 at the latest) in order to make a claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It states clearly that your 2020\/21 turnover needs to have been reduced compared to previous years in order to be eligible for the grant. If you haven\u2019t yet submitted your 2020\/21 return, an honest estimate is acceptable, and HMRC will determine how much you get based on the difference between 20201\/21 and the previous year(s). Just be aware that your \u2018honest estimate\u2019 for 2020\/21 is inevitably going to be what you eventually do submit, so be careful if lying comes naturally to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HMRC website makes it clear that if you are down by 30% or more, you will get 80% of three months\u2019 trading profits (maximum \u00a37,500), and if you\u2019re down by less than 30% then it will be 30% of three months\u2019 trading profits (maximum \u00a32,850). This is because – as I mentioned – the SEISS is not<\/strong> just for driving instructors. It\u2019s for plumbers, electricians, cleaners, nail bar owners, and all kinds of other self-employed people, etc., as well as instructors. Some of those will have legitimately traded while, ADIs ought not to have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I am confident that having only worked for about six weeks at a very reduced rate last summer, I will be eligible for the higher award. My turnover was down by more than 90%. However, if I\u2019d pretended everyone was a \u2018key worker\u2019 and crammed in a lot of work I really shouldn’t have been doing last year (whilst claiming \u2018hoax\u2019, and boasting about not wearing a mask), then I\u2019d have been at the lower rate – if I was eligible at all. If anyone out there did that, then I wish them well in their dilemma over what to do next – and I\u2019d love to be a fly on the wall watching them complete their 2020\/21 self assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But for me, I have no such dilemma. My reduced workload is absolutely transparent. I typically do around 1,100 hours of lesson in a year, but in 2020\/21 it was down to about 70 hours – a 95% reduction. And all as a result of following advice, taking this seriously, and not trying to be a smart ass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n