I am a subcontractor in the construction industry and unable to work due to COVID-19. What help can I claim?

Providing you filed your tax return for 2018-19 by 23rd April 2020, you may be able to benefit from the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS).

In order to be eligible, you must have trading profits of no more than £50,000 and more than half of your total income must come from self-employment for either the tax year 2018/19 or the average of the tax years 2016/17, 2017/18, and 2018/19.

The scheme will provide a grant, worth 80% of your profits up to a cap of £2,500 per month. More details about the scheme may be found here. 

We have also produced a guide for making a claim here and some frequently asked questions have been prepared here. 

As well as making a SEISS grant claim, if you make payments on account towards your income tax liability which would have been due for payment by the end of July 2020, these can be deferred until the end of January 2021.  This is an automatic process and does not need to be applied for.

If you are VAT registered, the VAT becoming due between 20th March 2020 and 30th June 2020 will also be automatically deferred so that the payment won’t be due until 31st March 2021, though you can still pay if you wish. The deadline for submitting the VAT returns has not changed, i.e. it is one month and seven days after the end of the VAT period.

If you are paying HMRC by direct debit and do not want to pay the VAT until next year, you will need to cancel the direct debit or HMRC will take the payment if VAT is due. Please ensure you cancel it in sufficient time so HMRC does not attempt to automatically collect on receipt of your VAT return.

If you need more guidance about working as a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), please call us on 01494 778900 and we can arrange a free initial consultation.

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Date published 20 May 2020 | Last updated 20 Mar 2024

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.