The 4th SEISS Grant is now open

HMRC is now contacting potentially eligible individuals to provide them with dates when they can make their claim – keep your eyes and ears open for contact from HMRC if you are eligible.

If you've had any amendments to historical returns then be careful, the criteria is a little different this time around. With the first three SEISS grants, any amendments to earlier year Tax Returns - that's 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19 - were effectively ignored when calculating the size of the SEISS grant, if it was made after 26th March 2020.

However, in the latest Treasury Directive which was released for the 4th SEISS Grant, it now specifically states that if you amend any Tax Return from 2016/17 tax year onwards, after 3rd March 2021, and it results in a negative change to the size or eligibility of the 4th SEISS Grant, any excess monies paid over has to be paid back immediately. If you do not, it could result in interest and penalties will ensue.

Having said this, there will be no requirement to pay it back if:

• The SEISS grant is £100 or less.
• The excess grant is £100 or less.

One final thing to keep in mind is that the grant would not increase if the amendment results in a positive change to the size or eligibility of the 4th SEISS grant.

HMRC has provided guidance on making a claim including what you need, how to submit and the records you need you to keep. It might also help to take a look at our earlier blog where we give a breakdown of the sort of things you're going to need to be looking at.

You can contact the team for more specific guidance on 0115 9989167 or make an enquiry. We are Nottingham accountants based in West Bridgford who work with businesses and individuals throughout the UK.