I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend, albeit a very different one to what we are used to.
Some of our clients have received direct guidance from HMRC already regarding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and how to make the claims for those staff in Furlough status but for those that have not, below are the details they have given.
HMRC are releasing the system for the grant claims on Monday 20th April 2020 and we have already been hard at work behind the scenes collating all the information that we assumed we would need in order to do this. The official information the system will require is as follows –
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The bank account number and sort code you’d like us to use when we pay your claim.
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The name and phone number of the person in your business for us to call with any questions.
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Your Self-Assessment UTR (Unique Tax Reference), Company UTR or CRN (Company Registration Number).
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The name, employee number and National Insurance number for each of your furloughed employees.
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The total amount being claimed for all employees and the total furlough period.
If we do not have some of this information for you then we will be in touch this week to obtain the information. No need to send us anything through unless we request it.
Claims will be made online and as your agent we have access to your account through our agents HMRC site that they have confirmed will be able to do the claims on your behalf. We identified a few clients that we do not have access for and already requested access with HMRC last week, if you receive a code in the post then please do send on to us ASAP. We will also be in touch with these clients this week to make alternative arrangements should the code not arrive in time.
I’m sure you can imagine that the system will be busy on Monday, there is also only 1 of me who will be able to make the claims on your behalf! I therefore ask you to please be patient and know that I will be working hard to ensure that all the claims are submitted as soon as possible, please do not call or email me to check on the status as this will slow me down. Demi will issue a confirmation email to you individually to let you know once the claim has been made.
If there are any changes to your claim, a further employee you have furloughed or one you have taken out of furlough then please do let us know before 9am on Monday 20th April so that we can update your claim, changes after this time will not be reflected.
Grants from Local Authorities
I’m getting feedback that a lot of clients have received their grants now but if you are still waiting for yours then please do chase up your local authority. If you still have not received a letter, then please check their websites and see if you are able to apply on their directly. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for one, then please get in touch and we’ll be able to help you. There are scams going around saying they can help people get these, please do not accept this, if you are not eligible then there is nothing that can be done to make you eligible unfortunately.
Self-employment
The Self-Employment grants are automatic, based on information that HMRC hold from your Tax Returns. As with the local authority grants, I have become aware of scammers that are offering to help people with these claims for a small fee – please do not take this up as there is nothing that can be done.
HMRC will write to you as soon as they are able with the details of the amount you are entitled to and to ask you for your bank details so they can deposit the funds.
Scams
There also appears to be a lot of other scams going around now, false emails, text messages, phone calls and Facebook ads. Please be vigilant and if you are unsure at all, then please contact us and we will be able to confirm if it is legitimate or not.
As ever, stay safe and healthy.
Very Best
Mel x