I hope you are all staying safe and well during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. I know these are difficult times, but the most important thing right now is your health and well-being. Hopefully ‘lockdown’ will start to ease soon and we can start to do the things we miss – for me it’s going to the coast with my dog – that’s the first thing I will be doing!
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The Chancellor has set out a package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, people and businesses through this period of disruption caused by COVID-19. You may already know what help is available, but here is a guide:
Small Business Grant Funding (SBGF)
The government will provide Small Business Grant Funding to support small businesses that already pay little or no business rates because of small business rate relief (SBBR), rural rate relief (RRR) and tapered relief. This will provide a one-off grant of £10,000 to eligible businesses to help meet their ongoing business costs. A grant does not need to be re-paid.
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF)
The Retail and Hospitality Grant Scheme provides businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors with a cash grant of up to £25,000 per property. For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of under £15,000, they will receive a grant of £10,000. For businesses in these sectors with a rateable value of between £15,001 and £51,000, they will receive a grant of £25,000. A grant does not need to be re-paid.
Please visit Charnwood Borough Council website here for further information.
Business Rates Holiday for Retail, Hospitality & Leisure
Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England will not have to pay business rates for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
HMRC has set up a new online portal so that ALL UK employers, regardless of size, will be eligible for assistance where an employee has been designated as a ‘furloughed worker.’ HMRC will reimburse 80% of furloughed workers wage costs, up to a cap of £2,500 per month. The current plan is that this will be in place for 3 months, at which point it will be reviewed. This will be backdated to 1 March 2020.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Deferment of VAT payments
For VAT, the deferral will apply from 20 March 2020 until 30 June 2020. This is an automatic offer with no applications required. Businesses will not need to make a VAT payment during this period. Taxpayers will be given until the 31st March 2021 to pay any liabilities that have accumulated during the deferral period. VAT refunds and reclaims will be paid by the government as normal.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Time to Pay
Any business or individual that pays tax to the UK government and has outstanding tax liabilities will be able to apply for their case to be reviewed by HMRC, with a view to arranging a bespoke time to pay agreement. This applies to all businesses including the self-employed. HMRC has set up a dedicated helpline: 0800 0159 559.
Please visit HMRC websitehere for further information.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)
Employers will be able to reclaim up to 2 weeks of SSP payments per employee where those SSP payments related to Coronavirus. This applies to all UK employers with 250 employees or less as at 28 February 2020. The reclaim will not be via RTI, instead, HMRC will set up a new portal to facilitate this.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
The British Business Bank has launched a scheme to support businesses with a turnover of no more than £45 million per year. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan. This applies for loans of up to £5m in value and for up to 6 years. No interest will be charged for the first 12 months.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
This scheme will allow you to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of your trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month. It will be available for 3 months, but may be extended. This will be the average of the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019. This is for self-employed individuals and partnerships.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
Mortgage and Rent Holiday
Tenants, as well as mortgage borrowers, can apply for a 3 month payment holiday. Interest will continue to be charged on any amount that they owe. The government has announced that the intention is that no one can be evicted from their home over the 3 months where this applies.
Please visit HMRC website here for further information.
I hope this is useful to you. Charnwood Bookkeeping is business as usual, although working from home. We are helping our clients through these difficult times.
If you are worried, or want any help with your business finances, please call us on 07903 329763 or contact us. We are in this together!
