Self-Employed Emergency Pack
in the attempt of the uk government to prevent the self-employed crisis, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced earlier today that self-employed Britons will be eligible to apply for a new emergency pack. This would be a new opportunity for all freelancers and self-employed business owners to earn 80% of their monthly income.
After the pressure from the UK’s 5 million self-employed workers, Sunak finally responded by announcing that: “The government will pay self-employed people who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly profit over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month”. The scheme will be open for three months and it will be extended “if necessary” as confirmed by Sunak.
🤷 Who is eligible?
Firstly, those with the lowest income take a priority position for receiving financial benefits. However, the scheme is overall open for all self-employed with a trading profit of less than £50,000 in 2018-19, or an average trading profit of less than £50,000 from 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.
To keep the benefit program fair, Sunak specified that only those already in self-employment, with a tax return for 2019, will be eligible to apply. If you have missed the January deadline, however, the Government will provide you with four weeks from today (26/03/2020) to submit your tax returns and apply for the scheme.
📌 How to apply?
The procedure seems simple. Anyone eligible for the benefit grant will be contacted directly from the HMRC and asked to fill out an online form. As a result, the grant will be payed straight into your bank account. No further details have been given yet on the application process, however they are expected to be announced soon.
It is important to note that freelancers’ only financial support now is still the Universal credit, £94.25 per week, until the new scheme can be accessed.