Coronavirus (COVID-19) summary of Government initiatives to support SME businesses
Grants etc
- Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - State to pay 80% of furloughed wages - up to £2,500 per month backdated until 1 March 2020 for an initial three months for employees who are furloughed rather than made redundant to "support as many jobs as necessary".
- Repayment of statutory sick pay - For sickness and self isolation caused by Coronavirus - available to businesses with fewer than 250 staff.
- Employment allowance - SMEs will not have to pay Employers National Insurance Contributions on the first £4,000 of their annual bill.
- Small business rate relief - For those who already qualify for small business or rural rate relief will be paid a one off grant of £10,000 to help meet ongoing business costs.
- Retail/leisure/hospitality - 100% business rate relief until 31 March 2021 - grant funding of £25,000. You do not need to do anything, your local authority will write to you if you are eligible.
- Insurance - Businesses that have insurance for a pandemic can claim.
Deferment and liquidity
- Deferring VAT - automatic offer with no application required. No business will need to pay Value Added Tax until after June 2020 - to be repaid before the end of the 2020/21 tax year.
- HMRC time to pay - has been around since the global financial crisis in 2008 but is likely to be available on more generous terms by calling HMRC's dedicated line on 0800 0159 559.
- Coronavirus business interruption loan scheme ("CBILS") - to provide loans of up to £5million to businesses with a turnover of less than £45million - replacing the Enterprise Finance Guarantee but on more attractive terms including twelve months interest free - a business needs to meet the other British Business Bank eligibility criteria of which the core one is a company needs to have a borrowing proposal which, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, would be considered viable by the lender and for which the lender believes the provision of finance will enable your business to trade out of any short-to-medium term difficulty. Visit the British Business Bank website for key features and eligibility criteria.
Other helpful initiatives
- Three month extension period to file accounts - businesses will be given an additional three months to file accounts with Companies House to help companies avoid penalties as they deal with the impact of COVID-19.
- New HMRC tax payment helpline launched - to help businesses concerned about paying their tax due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) . If you run a business or are self-employed and are concerned about paying your tax due to Coronavirus, you can call HMRC’s helpline for help and advice: 0800 024 1222
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