One of the announcements that was less publicised yesterday with the introduction of the Coronavirus job retention scheme was the Coronavirus VAT and tax deferral scheme. Payment will be expected in due course but it gives some breathing space and potentially some cashflow which may be welcome as more suppliers insist on immediate rather than account payment. This applies to:
- VAT
– deferral from 20 March until 30 June 2020, this should meant that no payment
is due for the quarters ended
- 29 February due 7 April
- 31 March due 7 May and
- 30 April due 7 June
No application is required, but if you pay by DD you will need to cancel it as HMRC will take it automatically, you will need to set up another DD in due course. Payment will be due before 5 April 2021
- Self assessment – the 2nd payment on account due on 31 July will be deferred until 31 January 2021. This does mean the 31 January payment will be much higher than usual
While the details remain hazy for many of the packages the government has offered, there is a specific government COVID-19: support for businesses web page and the relevant subsections are set out below:
- a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
- deferring VAT and Income Tax payments
- a Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs
- a 12-month business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in England
- small business grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief
- grant funding of £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000
- the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank
- a new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans
- the HMRC Time To Pay Scheme
In addition there are also 2 dedicated pages for:
The government has announced that these are minimum efforts at the moment and they will not hesitate in extending the period to which these apply should the need arise. Further information should appear on these links in due course. With the other measure the Coronavirus VAT and tax deferral scheme should be of help to businesses trying to continue through this crisis. You should seek professional advice before taking any steps based on these contents. If you would like advice in this or other areas feel free to call. Alastair Wood, AW Accounting, Gravesend, Kent – Accountants who “speak your language”