Self-employment Income Support Scheme: Construction

(asked on 11th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) instruct HMRC to use the Construction Insurance Scheme records they hold to verify the employment status of people in the construction industry who became self-employed in the 2019-20 financial year and (b) permit those people to make a claim under the Coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 16th December 2020

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) monthly returns would not be an appropriate basis for claims under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). CIS monthly returns do not show a subcontractor’s profits for the year. The subcontractor needs to complete an annual Income Tax Self-Assessment return to report their expenses and claim capital allowances.

The practical issues that prevented the Government from being able to include the newly self-employed in 2019-20 in the original SEISS, namely that HMRC did not have access to their self-assessment returns in order to verify their eligibility, still remain.

The Government has provided a substantial economic response to the pandemic that is one of the most generous in the world, supporting families, businesses and the most vulnerable through a package worth over £280 billion.

Those ineligible for the SEISS may still be eligible for other elements of the package, including tax deferrals, rental support, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.

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