HMRC Stakeholder Digest – 6 July 2021

6 Jul 2021

Please see the following message which we are sharing on behalf of HMRC:

This HMRC Stakeholder Digest provides a round-up of our latest news and updates, which we’d be grateful if you could share with your clients, customers or members.

The government has set up a dedicated support page where businesses can find the right support, advice and information to help with the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Prime Minister sets out plan to ease restrictions at step 4

COVID restrictions are set to end in England after the Prime Minister set out the next step in COVID-19 Response Roadmap.

The decision to open up will be made in a balanced and careful way, with the Prime Minister being clear that people’s personal judgement will now be key in learning to live with the virus.

Subject to a final review of the data next week, legal restrictions will end on Monday 19 July.

More information can be found on GOV.UK.

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme

Claiming the fifth SEISS grant

Eligible customers will be able to make claims for the fifth SEISS grant when the online claims service opens in late July. From mid-July, we will be contacting customers who may be eligible to let them know their personal claim date. This will be the earliest date they can make their claim.

The fifth grant will be determined by a turnover test for most customers. The test considers how much the customers’ turnover has gone down by in the 2020-21 tax year due to the pandemic. For more information on turnover, go to Self-Employment Income Support Scheme on GOV.UK.

Customers who were not eligible for the fourth grant, will not be eligible for the fifth grant either as we’re using the same tax returns to determine eligibility for both grants. Guidance can be found on GOV.UK.

What customers should do to get ready.

  • Eligible customers for the fifth SEISS grant that intend to claim, may need to calculate their 2020-21 turnover figure. We will contact customers from mid-July to let them know if they need to do this.
  • Customers do not need to submit their 2020-21 Self Assessment tax return at this time, even though we are asking them for their 2020-21 turnover. The deadline for the 2020-21 Self Assessment tax return is 31 January 2022.
  • We appreciate that the introduction of the turnover test means that some eligible customers may need support to get ready to claim. As with previous SEISS grants, tax agents cannot claim on behalf of their clients, as it could cause a delay to, or potential rejection of, their claim.

Reporting SEISS grants correctly on Self Assessment tax returns

Over the last few months we have noticed an issue arising from SEISS grants being reported incorrectly on 2020-21 Self Assessment tax returns. SEISS grants are taxable and subject to self-employed National Insurance contributions, which means they need to be reported on tax returns.

We have implemented an auto-correct solution that will address the majority of any new incorrect returns. However, depending on the circumstances, customers may need to take actions to avoid being charged tax and self-employed National Insurance twice on the grant(s) received. Go to GOV.UK for more information.

Contacting customers for further checks

We have begun contacting some customers who may be eligible for the fifth SEISS grant if they started trading in 2019-20, to verify their identity. We are asking customers for:

  • one form of identity and three months’ worth of bank statements from the 2019-20 tax year.

To confirm the contact is genuine, customers can go to HMRC trusted contacts on GOV.UK.

Submit CJRS claims for June

If employers haven’t submitted their June furlough claims yet, they must do so by the deadline of Wednesday 14 July.

For June, employers can claim 80% of their furloughed employees’ usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

What employers need to do now

  1. Check if they’re eligible and work out how much they can claim using our CJRS calculator and examples, on GOV.UK.
  2. Submit any claims for June, no later than Wednesday 14 July.
  3. Keep records that support the amount of CJRS grants they claim, in case HMRC needs to check them.
  4. Make sure they’re paying CJRS related employee tax and National Insurance contributions to HMRC and contact us if they’re struggling to pay.

Changes to the CJRS from this month

For July, the UK Government will pay 70% of employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,187.50. In August and September, this will reduce to 60% of employees’ usual wages up to a cap of £1,875.

Employers will need to pay the difference, so that they can continue to pay their furloughed employees at least 80% of their usual wages for the hours they do not work during this time, up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

The CJRS calculator is available to help employers work out how much they can claim for employees up to the end of September. To find this and everything they need to know about the CJRS, go to Job Retention Scheme.

Loss Carry Back - help for businesses

The Extended Loss Carry Back measure announced at Budget 2021 allows businesses to make claims to carry back losses for a further two years than current rules allow. This temporary extension applies for losses in accounting periods ending between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2022. 

Claims over £200,000 must be made in a company tax return (CT600). Box 45 (claim or relief affecting an earlier period) on the return should be completed, and details of the carry back claims included in the computations that accompany the return and accounts.

There’s no need to submit amended returns for any earlier periods the extended relief applies to, as claims will be treated as amendments to those returns.

Claims below the £200,000 limit can be made outside of the company tax return.

VAT deferral new payment scheme has closed

The VAT deferral new payment scheme is now closed.

If employers are unable to pay their outstanding VAT debt, help is still available.

Employers may be charged a 5% penalty and/or interest if they did not pay in full, join the VAT new payment scheme online by 21 June or make an arrangement to pay by 30 June 2021.

Off-payroll working rules

It is almost three months since the off-payroll working rules (IR35) changed. We wanted to update you on some of the ways we are continuing to help your members to understand and comply with these changes, in line with our published approach on supporting organisations to comply with the rules. 

If you know someone who is affected by the changes and still needs support to allow them to apply the rules correctly, please share this information with them. Support is still available for all types of customers affected by the changes.

Building on from our last update which highlighted new guidance on working through an umbrella company, here is some of our new material and resources which your members may find useful:

  • We have published a new YouTube video outlining the changes for clients.
  • We have published a new flow chart for client organisations to help clients understand if the rules apply to them.
  • We have introduced a webchat on off-payroll if customers want to talk to us online.
  • Customers can continue to use our free, digital, Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool to make status decisions. We have updated the landing page to reflect the changes to the off-payroll working rules, improve customer journeys and signpost customers to specific guidance to help them use CEST effectively. The tool itself and the decision it gives has not changed. We have also added links directly from certain questions in the tool to our new webchat so customers can talk to an advisor if they have difficulty answering a question.
  • We are continuing to use social media to signpost customers to our support, including a recent post summarising our support available on international supply chains, which includes links to flow charts for organisations and contractors who need to understand the offshore aspects of the rules.
  • Since 6 April we have continued with our webinar programme, delivering 14 webinars on 6 different areas of the rules. Live webinars on these topics have now ended, but customers can continue to access recordings of all the webinar topics on our help and support page. We will also be delivering a new webinar on our CEST tool over the summer, and customers should look out for this on our social media pages.

We are working to identify any sectors who may benefit from further support. If you represent a sector which could benefit from additional support to apply the rules correctly then get in touch by emailing [email protected].             

440,000 tax credits customers still to renew claims

HMRC is reminding 440,000 tax credits customers they have less than one month left to renew their tax credits claims ahead of the 31 July 2021 deadline.

Renewing online is quick and easy. Customers can log into GOV.UK to check on the progress of their renewal, be reassured it is being processed and know when they will hear back from HMRC. Customers can also use the HMRC app on their smartphone to:

  • renew their tax credits
  • check their tax credits payments schedule
  • find out how much they have earned for the year

Customers do not need to report any temporary falls in their working hours as a result of coronavirus. They will be treated as if they are working their normal hours for up to eight weeks after the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes. Any self-employed individuals, who have claimed a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, will need to declare the grant payments. More information on

Visit GOV.UK for more information on managing your tax credits.

Tax Administration Strategy calls for evidence closing soon

On 23rd March, the government published a command paper titled ‘Tax Policies and Consultations (Spring 2021)’, which set out a range of tax-related announcements including publication of consultations, discussion documents and calls for evidence. 

This marked a significant milestone in HMRC’s work to deliver the Tax Administration Strategy (TAS), aimed at improving the resilience and effectiveness of the country’s tax administration system. 

The documents closing soon include:

  1. A call for evidence on our Tax Administration Framework – exploring how to make tax more straightforward and harder to get wrong, how to improve people’s experience of the tax system, and how to build and maintain trust between HMRC and taxpayers.  To respond to this call for evidence, you and your members can visit GOV.UK or email responses to: [email protected] by 11.45PM on the 13 July 2021. 
  2. A call for evidence on Timely Payment – exploring the longer-term opportunities and challenges of more frequent payment of income tax within Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA), and of corporation tax for small companies, based on in-year information. To respond to this call for evidence, you and your members can visit GOV.UK, or email responses to: [email protected] by 11.45PM on the 13 July 2021.

National Minimum Wage (apprentices and their employers) – stakeholder toolkit

HMRC is carrying out communications activities to ensure apprentices know what they’re entitled to and what they can do if they think they’re not paid correctly. We also want to help employers get the minimum wage right and know that help and support is available.

As part of this, we have produced an online stakeholder toolkit which includes:

  • suggested social media posts and images
  • short blogs
  • a myth buster
  • a few illustrative wage calculations
  • useful links to further information sources

We would be grateful for your support in sharing the material and these important messages with apprentices and their employers within your networks.

HMRC issue briefing: hidden economy conditionality

HMRC is introducing a simple tax check that will take place when people renew their licences to drive taxis, drive and operate private hire vehicles, or deal in scrap metal.

This will be a small addition to the requirements already put in place by licensing authorities, for example checks to ensure that licensees are fit and proper persons. This will be a straightforward online process, taking a few minutes, typically once every three years.

It will be introduced for licensees in England and Wales from April 2022.

More information can be found on GOV.UK. 

Hospitality recruitment briefing pack

As the UK hospitality sector is beginning to thrive again and we open up in line with the roadmap, we know the sector is looking for people to fill vacancies across a broad range of roles. We have partnered with UKHospitality on a short hospitality briefing pack to support conversations with both employers and jobseekers.

For employers, the message is that Jobcentre Plus can support their search for staff to fill vacancies. For jobseekers, the pack highlights the range of opportunities available in the sector. Please do use the messaging in this pack in any engagement with the hospitality sector, or those with reach into a jobseeker audience.