HMRC Is Now Looking For Overclaimed SEISS Grants

HMRC is writing to a number of taxpayers it believes need to repay all or part of their fourth or fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant following tax return amendments ...

It is also checked to see if that amendment means the taxpayer was only entitled to the lower level grant of 30% rather than the higher 80% fifth grant. Payments were made based on calculations of tax returns for 2016/17 to 2019/20 that it had on file.

"Amendments for tax returns for relevant years could make you ineligible for the entire grant!"

If this is the case for you, you must inform HMRC as soon as possible and repay the appropriate amount of the grant which has now been overclaimed.

These amendments can include HMRC's own corrections, or done by you or even by HMRC after an enquiry. Entitlement to the first three SEISS grants has not been affected by any subsequent amendments to later tax returns.

If HMRC writes to you with a formal assessment then you can either accept it and pay it immediately, or if you can't afford to pay it then phone HMRC and make a time to pay arrangement.

A 5% late payment penalty will be applied if payment has not been made within 30 days or Time to Pay has not been set up by the due date on the assessment.

"Interest is applied on amounts unpaid after the 31st of January 2023!"

If you don't accept the assessment, you can lodge an appeal within 30 days of the date of the letter you received and speak to your accountant about checking the tax calculation HMRC sent you.

If you feel inspired to find out more about anything I've said here, do call me on 01908 774320 or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch as soon as I can.