Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) & Other Financial Support
The operation of the SEISS scheme has ended: it has not been possible for any further applications for SEISS grants to be made since 30 September 2021. Our information pages about SEISS are now therefore no longer being retained. However, for those interested, we have set out some of the features of the SEISS scheme below.
SEISS was part of a package of financial support by H M Government to assist traders affected by Covid-19. The purpose of SEISS was to provide payments to individuals (not companies) carrying on a trade adversely affected by the Covid-19 emergency in the United Kingdom. It applied if the individual carried on a trade and lost trading profits due to Covid-19. Payments under SEISS to help compensate for lost trading profits due to Covid-19 were grants, not loans and so not repayable.
The scheme was only for self-employed people, not employees. The Government’s aim was to provide parity with the scheme for employees, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The SEISS scheme operated in addition to any others available to a sole trader or other business in the circumstances.
If an individual's annual profits exceed £50,000 per annum, they were not eligible for any amount at all under SEISS. If half or more of their total annual income was not derived from your self-employment, they were not eligible for any amount at all under SEISS.
SEISS initially provided payments to cover the period March, April and May 2020. It was extended to cover the period June, July and August 202, then again to cover the three month period November 2020 to January 2021, then again to cover the three month period February to April 2021, and finally again to cover the six month period May to September 2021.
As to other Covid-19 financial support measures that the Government put in place, see "Covid 19 - Financial Support Measures" below