The UK Government has confirmed the scheme will now be delivered ahead of the original June schedule – with individuals able to apply for the grant from 13 May.
HMRC will begin contacting eligible self-employed individuals this week by email, text and letter to inform them that they are eligible and explain what they need to do to apply. Applications will open in tranches using the Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number given to all self-employed taxpayers.
To provide further support to the claims process, the Treasury have launched an online eligibility checker tool available at https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference. This will also provide eligible self-employed individuals with a confirmed date from 13 May from which they will be able to apply for their grant.
The Treasury have also updated their guidance, which can be found at the links below:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-different-circumstances-affect-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-hmrc-works-out-total-income-and-trading-profits-for-the-self-employment-income-support-scheme#3year