SELF-EMPLOYED workers will be able to claim a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly earnings as part of a new support package, but will not be able to get the money until early June.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined the support made available for the self-employed during the coronavirus crisis.
He said: "The Government will pay self-employed people who have been adversely affected by the coronavirus a taxable grant worth 80 per cent of their average monthly profits over the last three years, up to £2,500 a month."
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Mr Sunak said the scheme will be available "no later" than the beginning of June.
The scheme is open to anyone with trading profits of up to £50,000 and will be only available to those who make the majority of their income from self-employment, so only the "genuinely self-employed" benefit.
"And to minimise fraud only those who are already in self-employment who have a tax return for 2019 will be able to apply," he said. "For people we don't know anything about, there's not really anything we can do.
"95 per cent of people who are majority self-employed will benefit from this scheme.
"HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to access this scheme no later from the beginning of June."
Mr Sunak said those eligible will be contacted by HMRC and the money will be paid into their bank accounts.
And he said anyone who missed January's filing deadline will have four weeks to submit their tax return so no-one misses out on support.
For people who are struggling right now, self-employed people can access business interruption loans, and self-assessment income tax payments can be deferred until the end of January, Mr Sunak said.
He added that self-employed people can now access Universal Credit in full.
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