Self Assessment season is upon us, and this year includes a few extra calculations fro some returns thanks to the SEISS grants which were paid to some sole traders and partnerships as part of the government's COVID relief scheme. HMRC have recently released a press release reminding tax payers of the need to declare these grants on the self assessment return for year ending 5th April 2021, which you can read in full below.
And remember, the deadline for filing the 2021 Self Assessment Return is 31st January 2022, and as ever we would urge clients yet to file, to send us their information as soon as possible to avoid the last minute rush!
HMRC Press Release 15 December 2021
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding Self Assessment customers to declare any COVID-19 grant payments on their 2020 to 2021 tax return.
More than 2.7 million customers claimed at least one Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) payment up to 5 April 2021. These grants are taxable and customers should declare them on their 2020 to 2021 tax return before the deadline on 31 January 2022.
The SEISS application and payment windows during the 2020 to 2021 tax year were:
SEISS 1: 13 May 2020 to 13 July 2020
SEISS 2: 17 August 2020 to 19 October 2020
SEISS 3: 29 November 2020 to 29 January 2021
SEISS is not the only COVID-19 support scheme that customers should declare on their tax return. If customers received other support payments during COVID-19, they may need to report this on their tax return if they are:
self-employed
in a partnership
a business
Information on which support payments need to be reported to HMRC and any that do not is available on GOV.UK.
It is important that customers check and make any changes to their tax return to make sure any SEISS or other COVID-19 support payments have been reported correctly in their Self Assessment.
HMRC recently announced that more than 20,000 customers, who were unable to pay their tax bill in full, had used the self-serve Time to Pay facility, worth £46 million. The online payment plan helps customers who may feel worried or anxious about paying any tax owed by enabling them to spread the amount into manageable monthly installments, up to the value of £30,000.
If customers owe more than £30,000, or need longer to pay, they should call the Self Assessment Payment Helpline on 0300 200 3822.
HMRC urges everyone to be alert if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or personal information. HMRC sees high numbers of fraudsters emailing, calling or texting people claiming to be from the department. If in doubt, HMRC advises not to reply directly to anything suspicious, but to contact them straight away and to visit GOV.UK to check how to identify HMRC-related scam phone calls, emails and text messages.