Don’t forget to declare coronavirus grants on tax returns

It’s over a year since the final tranche of payments under the self-employment income support scheme (SEISS) closed for application. As a result, it’s easy to overlook them when completing your tax return. Under the rules, you need to declare the payments received in the tax year, as was the case for the 2020/21 returns. So, which payments should you include?

The grants paid during 2021/22 were the fourth and fifth grants. The SEISS rules for these grants took account of profit figures from 2019/20, whereas the first three tranches didn’t. That means that those who were new to self-employment (including partnerships) in 2019/20 may have received the fourth tranche as their first payment under the SEISS. If that applies to you, you won’t have reported SEISS payments on your return previously, so make sure you read the guidance carefully