To ensure that you are up to date with the financial support schemes available to you we have summarised the main points and highlighted any actions you may need to take.
VAT deferral – apply now to spread your payments
The VAT Deferral New Payment Scheme gives businesses the opportunity to pay their VAT in monthly instalments. It is open for all businesses who deferred paying VAT due between 20 March and 30 June 2020 and have been unable to pay in full by 31 March 2021.
To join the scheme, you need to apply by 21 June 2021. Go to GOV.UK for more information and to apply.
CJRS – claims for April
Claims for the Coronavirus job Retention Scheme (CJRS) can now be submitted for periods in May.
- If you haven’t submitted your claim for March but think you have a reasonable excuse for missing the 14 April deadline, check if you can make a late claim by searching 'claim for wages' on GOV.UK.
- Submit any claims for April no later than Friday 14 May
- Keep records that support the amount of CJRS grants you claim, in case HMRC needs to check them
- Pay the associated employee tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC. If you don’t, you’ll need to repay the whole of the CJRS grant to HMRC.
CJRS eligibility from May
If you have employees who have previously been ineligible for the CJRS, as they were not on your payroll on 30 October 2020, they may be eligible for periods from 1 May 2021 onwards.
From May you will be able to claim for eligible employees who were on your PAYE payroll on 2 March 2021. This means you must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission between 20 March 2020 and 2 March 2021, notifying HMRC of earnings for that employee.
You and your employees do not need to have benefitted from the scheme before to make a claim if you meet the eligibility criteria. For more information on eligibility, search 'check if you can claim for your employees’ wages' on GOV.UK.
Changes to CJRS claims for variable pay from May
For periods from 1 May, when calculating the average wages for employees who are not on a fixed salary, you should no longer includes period of:
- Statutory Sick Pay related leave
- Family related statutory leave
- Reduced rate paid leave following a period of Statutory Sick Pay or family related leave.
However, if your employee was on one of these types of leave for the entire period used to calculate their average wages, then you should continue to include the days and wages related to that date.
For more information on variable pay calculations, go to GOV.UK and search 'calculate how much you can claim'.
Recovery Loan Scheme
Replacing the Bounce Back Loan and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan schemes, the Recovery Loan Scheme has been set up to assist businesses of any size access loans and other kinds of finance to recover after the pandemic.
Up to £10 million is available per business. The actual amount offered, and the terms are at the discretion of participating lenders. The government guarantees 80% of the finance to the lender. As the borrower, you are 100% liable for the debt.
Eligible businesses are those trading in the UK that:
- Would be viable were it not for the pandemic
- Have been adversely impacted by the pandemic
- Are not in collective insolvency proceedings (unless in scope of the Northern Ireland Protocol in which case different eligibility rules may apply)
The loans are available through a network of accredited lenders, listed on the British Business Bank’s website. The scheme is open until 31 December 2021, subject to review.
Torgersens’ Business Support Helpline
Our helpline is available to business owners who have queries relating to accounting, tax or how to access support during the COVID-19 crisis, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and grant funding.
The helpline is a free, email-based service available to any business that requires assistance during this difficult and stressful time.
You can access the helpline by emailing your query to enquiries@torgersens.com. Please ensure that you include the following information in your email:
- Your name
- Your company name
- Your telephone number
- Brief details of your query
We will aim to email or call you within 24 hours of your email reaching us, between Monday and Friday.
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