Small business Coronavirus Help.

Hi Everyone

Here is the link to the government website for help to small business.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Few points to mention

• There should be a major announcement in the next 48 hrs for help with self-employed income.
• In regards to staff, normal contracts apply so if you are considering making people redundant check staff contracts e.g do they need to be paid for a full month/ redundancy pay.
• In relation to the point above look at the employee retention scheme that runs from the 1^st April avoiding those issues.
• For those limited companies corporation tax bills are due 9 months and 1 day after the end of their business year. These can be negotiated with HMRC into some kind of payment plan
• Make sure you apply for the rates relief with your local council
• Commercial mortgages can also be requested for a 3 month repayment holiday however from personal experience the process seems more complicated as they have asked for my business accounts like a ‘normal’ commercial loan process. Residential mortgages are a case of contacting your lender directly usually through an online form.
• Self-employed and other people in the Self Assessment System will not have to pay their July payment on account but this will be due 31 January 2021 – this is automatic
• VAT payments this quarter may be deferred over the remainder of the year but VAT returns still need to be prepared and submitted on time – this is automatic
• Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis – the application process is being devised – my reading is that you need to pay the employee and then claim back the 80% that has been widely publicised so people considering stopping wages should think carefully – rules around sole director companies are unclear.  My understanding is that the grant will be based on February’s PAYE submissions.

Things you may already know:

• a statutory sick pay relief package for SMEs – this will not be claimed via the PAYE process and the refund process is still unknown
• a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England – this will be automatic
• small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief – as it stands this would not be available to people who run businesses at home or those who do not pay business rates.  This will be automatic
• grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 – the process will be via the local authority
• the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme to support long-term viable businesses who may need to respond to cash-flow pressures by seeking additional finance – this is accessed via the British Bank website
• the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme – If you are concerned about being able to pay your tax due to COVID-19, call HMRC’s dedicated helpline on 0800 0159 559
• Mortgage holidays for 3 months – I’m already hearing positive comments about banks providing this relief and if you are in difficulty you should contact your bank
• IR35 for contractors has been placed on hold until April 2021
• Companies House filings can be delayed due to Coronavirus