HMRC writes to SEISS claimants

From the first week of November, HMRC is writing to people who have claimed the first, second and/or third Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants who have either:

• not yet filed their self assessment tax return for 2019/20 or
• who have filed the return but have not completed the self-employment or partnership pages.

The letter states that the information should be sent to HMRC within 30 days so that it can check that they there were eligible for the SEISS grant(s) they claimed.

The claimant might need to repay the grant if they were not trading in the 2019/20 tax year, and the letter explains how they should do this. 

Please note that a copy of letter is not being sent to agents, so they should check whether their clients have received any correspondence. 

Below is an example of the letter:

Dear [customer name]

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) – action needed

Our records show that you claimed a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant. As part of the claim process, you told us you were trading as Self-Employed or in a partnership when you claimed the grant.

This letter relates to the first, second and third SEISS grant(s) only.

Filing a tax return is a requirement to be eligible for SEISS.

We are writing to you as you have either:

• not submitted an Income Tax Self-Assessment return for 2019-2020

or

• have submitted a return but have not completed the self-employment or partnership page(s)

You need to file your return and/or complete those pages so we can check you are eligible for the SEISS grant you claimed.

As a reminder, to be eligible for SEISS, you must have:

• traded as Self-Employed or in a Partnership in the tax years:
  • 2018-2019 and submitted your Self-Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
  • 2019-2020
• intended to continue trading in 2020-2021

If you were not trading in the 2019-2020 tax year, you will need to repay the SEISS grant you received.

What you need to do now

• Make sure you are registered for Self-Assessment
• Submit your Income Tax Self-Assessment return for 2019-2020 and/or complete the self-employment or partnership page(s) if you were trading
• Pay back your SEISS grant if you weren’t trading in 2019-2020

If you are registered for Self-Assessment but have ceased trading, you need to tell us. Call the Self-Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310 so we can update our records.

You should show this letter to your Tax Adviser or Accountant if you have one.

Please take action within 30 days, or we will need you to repay the grants you received.

You may be charged a late filing penalty if you are submitting your tax return late (a late filing penalty won’t apply if you’re amending a return you have already submitted).

How to pay back your SEISS grant

If you didn’t trade in 2019-2020 and need to pay back your grant, you should:

• go to www.gov.uk and search ‘pay back SEISS’
• complete the online form

If it has been over 90 days since you received your grant and you were not eligible, you may be charged a penalty.

Contacting us and finding more information

To find help on filing, amending, or registering for Self-Assessment, go to www.gov.uk and search for ‘Self-Assessment’.

If you cannot find the support you need, then call the Self-Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.

To find help and further information about SEISS go to www.gov.uk and search ‘check SEISS’.

Please tell us if you have any health or personal circumstances that may make it difficult for you to respond. We’ll help you in whatever way we can. For more information about this, go to www.gov.uk and search for ‘get help from HMRC if you need extra support’.