Business Round-up

Fifth SEISS grant opens to claims from late July

The fifth Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant covering May 2021 to September 2021 will open to claims from late July, HMRC has confirmed.

To be eligible for the grant, an individual must be self-employed or a member of a partnership. They must have traded in the tax year 2019/2020 and submitted their tax return on or before 2 March 2021, and also have traded in the tax year 2020/21.

The amount of the fifth grant will be determined by how much an individual's turnover has been reduced in the year April 2020 to April 2021.

HMRC will provide more information and support by the end of June 2021 to help individuals work out how their turnover was affected.

The online claims service for the fifth SEISS grant will be open from late July 2021. In mid-July HMRC will contact individuals who are eligible based on their tax returns to give them a date from which they can make their claim.

Finance Act receives Royal Assent

Royal Assent of Finance Act 2021 was granted on 10 June, bringing the extended loss carry-back, the capital allowances super-deduction and other measures into effect.

Now Royal Assent has been granted it will prompt the issue of commencement orders for provisions, including the 130% capital allowances super-deduction for companies; the Plastic Packaging Tax; penalties for late filing of tax returns; penalties for late payment of tax; and VAT late payment and repayment interest.

The government tabled amendments to the super-deduction in Finance Act 2021.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak used the 2021 Budget to announce temporary capital allowances. These provide an increased incentive to invest in plant and machinery.

The new super-deduction allows companies investing in qualifying new plant and machinery to benefit from new first-year capital allowances.

Under the measure, a company will be allowed to claim a super-deduction providing allowances of 130% on most new plant and machinery investments that ordinarily qualify for 18% main rate writing down allowances, and a first-year allowance of 50% on most new plant and machinery investments that ordinarily qualify for 6% special rate writing down allowances. This relief is available between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2023 and is not available for unincorporated businesses.

The amendments to Finance Act 2021 permit landlord lessors to claim the super-deduction. Landlord lessors were initially excluded from claiming the deduction.

Tax tip: understanding VAT collection schemes

As importers and exporters continue to get to grips with post-Brexit trade, import taxes and VAT changes, businesses should note that the One Stop Shop introduces three schemes which were launched on 1 July to deal with B2C supplies of goods and services to EU customers.

They are known as the ‘Union’, ‘non-Union’ and ‘import’ schemes. The schemes are designed to facilitate the collection of VAT by one EU member state, which is then passed on to the member state in which the supply is deemed to take place.

If businesses register for VAT using one of these schemes, they will complete one return for all EU sales, rather than being required to register for VAT in all member states in which your customers are based. These schemes will allow businesses to declare sales across all EU member states.