Following on from the Prime Ministers announcement and restrictions on Tuesday evening and cancelling the Autumn Budget yesterday, today The Chancellor announced their plan for supporting businesses through the next 6 months.
We do not have full details on the measures announced but will summarise the support here and then update you when more information is available.
Furlough Scheme (to be replaced by Job Support Scheme)
The scheme is still due to end on 31st October 2020 and there will be no extension to this. However, Rishi stated that a new Job Support Scheme will be introduced on 1st November 2020 and will run for 6 months to help keep workers employed.
Under the scheme the government will contribute towards the wages of employees who are working fewer than normal hours due to decreased demand, they will contribute 1/3rd of the wage up to a monthly cap of £697.92 for each employee. The employer will continue to pay the employee full wage for the hours they work which means the employees should hopefully still be paid for 2/3rds of the hours they cannot work.
The JSS will be available to all businesses even if they have not previously used the furlough scheme and will sit alongside the Jobs Retention Bonus previously announced.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
This scheme will be extended for those who are self-employed and were eligible for the previous 2 grants (even if not claimed), you should be actively trading but with reduced demand and the government will pay a grant equal to 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875.00.
This will cover the period from November to January with a second grant available for February to April, which may be adjusted depending on the changing circumstances.
Reduced VAT Rate
The 5% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality industry will be extended until 31st March 2021, this means that all eat in food and non-alcoholic drinks will be at the lower rate for nearly 3 months longer than originally planned.
VAT Deferral Payments
VAT payments that were previously deferred until 31st March 2021, can now be placed on a monthly payment plan for 11 months after the due date. These plans will not have any penalties or interest charged and the monthly payments are expected to be equal.
Self-Employed Tax Deferral Payments
Similarly, the tax payments for the self-employed that were due to be paid on 31st July 2020 and were previously deferred until 31st January 2021, can now be placed on an 11-month payment plan with no penalties and interest applied.
Bounce Back and CBILS
The application deadline for both loans has been extended until 31st December 2020. There will also be an opportunity to extend the repayment terms from 6 years to 10 years under the government guarantee, this will be through the Pay as You Grow repayment system.
Dunnell Accounting
We are back working at the office as much as possible now, despite the Prime Minister doing a U-turn on office workers, we need to be back for our own sanity! The office is COVID secure, we have completed risk assessments, we are more than 2 metres apart whilst working and have PPE readily available. We would love to see you; we just ask that you book an appointment first so that we can monitor the footfall in the office.
A new team member joined us on Monday 7th September 2020, Stacy Hall. Stacy is a part time trainee bookkeeper so will be in touch for information requests I am sure.
We are also looking for a full time Assistant Accountant to join the team ASAP, the successful applicant will be AAT qualified as a minimum with experience in a small practice or business covering all aspects of the accounting functions. If you know of anyone that you are happy to recommend, then please do let us know!
Thank you for your patience and understanding over the last 6 months, its been a tough time for all we know. We’ve learnt a lot already and thought we had come to the end of government schemes but we will be diving head first in to the guidance for the JSS as soon as it is announced so that clients can take advantage from 1st November!
Very Best
Mel and the Team x