Government opens up second round of help for the self-employed

The second round of the government’s SEISS scheme, which offers grants of up to £6,750 to self-employed people, is now open. Applications will be accepted until 19 October.

Self-employed people adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic have just over six weeks to claim support from the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). The second round of the scheme, which offers grants of up to £6,750, opened last week and applications will be accepted until 19 October.

The SEISS aims to fill some of the gap into which many self-employed workers have fallen because they are not eligible for other types of business support. Assuming you meet the qualifying criteria, it will pay 70% of your average monthly trading profits over the past three tax years. The non-repayable grant is paid in a single instalment and covers three months’ profits, up to a maximum of £6,750 (the equivalent of £2,190 a month).

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.