Extra month to repay overclaimed COVID grants

Most COVID support grants and support payments are taxable and need to be reported on your tax return. If you have overclaimed SEISS, CJRS or Eat Out to Help Out grants, you must repay these to HMRC. The CIOT has produced guidance on how to report and repay overpaid SEISS and CJRS grants.

For unincorporated businesses, the back-stop date for reporting overpaid grants in their 2020/21 tax return was 31 January 2022. However, in accordance with the recent announcement regarding the self-assessment deadline and the imposition of penalties, HMRC have confirmed to us that if the return is filed by 28 February 2022, and the overclaim is reported on that return, no penalties will be levied. This is on the proviso that the failure to report the overpayments earlier is not deliberate.