Over the course of the pandemic, the government has launched several financial support systems to help businesses with the disruption caused to their business by the coronavirus outbreak. There have been several phases of some of these schemes and several updates over the last few months. This is a simple breakdown of the different types of schemes and when the support from them will end.
| Support scheme | Annoucement Date | End Date |
| Top-up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses | 05/01/2021 | Not announced |
| Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) | 30/11/2020 | 29/01/2021 (new scheme coming soon) |
| Coronavirus loan schemes | 30/09/2020 | 31/03/2021 |
| Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Extended (CJRS) | 1/07/2020 | 31/04/2021 |
| VAT reduced rate for hospitality and tourism | 15/07/2020 | 31/03/2021 |
| VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme | 15/07/2020 | 31/03/2022 |
| Job Retention Bonus | Cancelled | Cancelled (to be reviewed) |
| Enhanced Time to Pay for Self Assessment taxpayers | 14/07/2020 | Application deadline: 01/2021 End Date: 01/2022 |
| Pay As You Grow | –/09/2020 | 11-12/2030 |
| Tax relief for home working expenses | Always been available | Not announced |
Top up grants
The latest updated advice on top-up grants from the government was given in light of the restrictions imposed on 5th January 2021.
Businesses can contact their local authority to find out whether they’re eligible to receive any funding to support them under the coid19 restrictions. You can find where your local authority is here.
The official end date for support has not been announced yet. The same can be said for businesses that are not eligible for the grants but that can access funds from the additional support pot.
Self-Employed Income Support Scheme Grant Extension
There have been three (SEISS), and there will be a fourth scheme coming soon, although the dates have not been announced yet.
The original grant was revised in October and lasted until November 2020.
The third grant provides 80% of average monthly trading profits, capped at £7,500. It covers the period 1 October 2020 to 31 January 2021.
Claims for the third grant opened on 30 November 2020 and will close on 29 January 2021.
The fourth grant amount hasn’t yet been announced but will cover the period 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2021.
You can find out whether you’re eligible for the fourth grant here. However, it has not been announced when that is open for applications yet.
Loan schemes
There are several loan schemes set up for covid19 restrictions. The closing date for applications to these loan schemes is the 31st March 2021. To find out whether you are eligible for these loan schemes, you need to check if your existing lender is accredited to comply. If they are not you may have to approach another lender.
These are:
- Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS)
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
- Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
Bounce Back Loan Scheme
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme is a scheme set up by the government to back loans given to businesses given by the accredited lenders.
SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) can borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 as part of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. Businesses can apply for a loan for 25% of their turnover up to the maximum of £50,000.
The loans have a 100% guarantee from the government and you do not have to pay interest or fees for the first 12 months. Additionally, the interest rate for the loan is set at 2.5%.
following businesses aren’t eligible for this scheme:
- State-funded primary and secondary schools
- Grant-funded further education institutions
- Public sector bodies
- Banks, insurers and reinsurers (not including insurance brokers)
- If your business was ‘undertaking in difficulty’ on 31 December 2019.
You can apply here for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme. The end date is as late as November/December 2030, if you are granted a loan on the application deadline.
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and furlough
This scheme was created to help employers pay their employees the majority of their wages while they are unable to work during the pandemic and would otherwise have to be let go from their jobs.
All UK businesses, including charities, are eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). There is no cap on the number of workers who can be paid through this scheme.
There are now two phases to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. In the first phase (currently active) the government is reimbursing 80% of furloughed workers’ wages, up to £2,500 per employee per month. Each business can top up these salaries if they wish to.
In order to be eligible for this scheme the employees must be currently working for the employer. Taking on other jobs will not affect their cover.
| June | The government pays 80% of wages, capped at £2,500. It also pays employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers don’t have to pay anything. |
| July | The government pays 80% of wages, capped at £2,500. It also pays employer National Insurance and pension contributions. Employers don’t have to pay anything. |
| August | The government pays 80% of wages, capped at £2,500. Employers have to pay for employer National Insurance and pension contributions. |
| September | The government pays 70% of wages, capped at £2,187.50. Employers have to pay for employer National Insurance and pension contributions, and 10% of wages – with the 70% from the government, this makes up the 80% total, capped at £2,500. |
| October | The government pays 60% of wages, capped at £1,875. Employers have to pay for employer National Insurance and pension contributions, and 20% of wages – with the 60% from the government, this makes up the 80% total, capped at £2,500. |
According to the stipulations to make sure your employees are eligible for fourglouch under this scheme, you must agree on a work pattern with them that lasts at least seven calnder days. Therefore, that would make 30 April 2021 the final day for a furlough work pattern begun on or before 24 April 2021.
You cannot start a furlough work pattern after this date.
Your final claim should then be made before the deadline. The deadline is yet to be announced by the government.
Remember that, to make a claim, you’ll need to provide supporting documentation. This documentation will be the details of each furloughed employee, or a spreadsheet listing them.
The first phase of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will close to new entrants on 30 June 2020.
If your business wanted to add new employees to the scheme, you needed to do so by 10 June.
30 April 2021. This is the final date for which employees can be furloughed.
VAT reduced rate for hospitality and tourism
The initial coronavirus relief measures included a reduction on VAT rate classification on good and services pertaining to the hospitality and tourism industry, as these industries are unable to continue business under the coronavirus restrictions.
This meant businesses could apply a reduced 5% rate of VAT to supplies of food and non-alcoholic drinks that were consumed on their premises.
In the Winter Economy Plan, the government extended the deadline for this measure.
You’re probably already paying the reduced VAT rate, so just prepare for when the VAT percentage increases after March 31st 2021.
The end date for this VAT relief is 31 March 2021.
VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme
Additionally to the previously laid out VAT reduction measures, as part of the initial coronavirus relief measures, the government allowed VAT-registered businesses to defer their VAT due for the March to June 2020 period.
The end date for this is 31 March 2022, however, applications will need to be completed before this date. You can apply to defer you VAT here.
Tax relief for working at home
Even before the pandemic it has always been available to apply for tax relief for home workers. You would only have been eligible for this if your contact required you to work from home. Now however, due to the pandemic HMRC has made a concession that taxpayers can claim a full year’s relief (52 weeks) even if they were only required to work from home for as little as one day.
In normal years, relief can only be claimed for the actual number of whole weeks worked at home.
HMRC has set up a calculator to work out whether you’re eligible for expenses claims on equipment you have had to buy to work from home during the pandemic.
You can claim for the home working tax relief in two ways:
- You can use a flat rate of £6 a week from 6 April 2020, which is calculated based on your rate of tax. For example, if you’re a basic rate taxpayer, you can claim 20% of this – £1.20 per week. Claiming this way means you don’t need to provide evidence of the extra costs.
- For the exact amount of extra costs. But you’ll need to keep the paperwork and submit a Self-Assessment claim (such as receipts, bills or contracts).
There is no current end date for this.