Please check the government guidelines and how you may be able to get financial help
A new temporary Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, delivered by the British Business Bank, will launch in a matter of weeks to support businesses to access bank lending and overdrafts. The government will provide lenders with a guarantee of 80% on each loan (subject to a per-lender cap on claims) to give lenders further confidence in continuing to provide finance to SMEs. The government will not charge businesses or banks for this guarantee, and the Scheme will support loans of up to £1.2 million in value. This new guarantee will initially support up to £1 billion of lending on top of current support offered through the British Business Bank. • All businesses and self-employed people in financial distress, and with outstanding tax liabilities, may be eligible to receive support with their tax affairs through HMRC’s Time To Pay service. These arrangements are agreed on a case-by-case basis and are tailored to individual circumstances and liabilities. These businesses can contact HMRC’s new dedicated COVID-19 helpline from 11 March 2020 for advice and support. To ensure ongoing support, HMRC have made a further 2,000 experienced call handlers available to support firms and individuals when needed. For Time to Pay support if you are concerned about being able to pay your tax due to COVID-19, call HMRC’s dedicated helpline on 0800 0159 559.
Outstanding Tax
If you have a tax to pay please check out HMRC site to delay your payment if necessary
Insurance – are you covered ?
Please check your business insurance as you may be covered for loss of income.
Review business costs
Please look at all costs and reduce discretionary and non-essential expenses as far as possible. Fixed costs such as wages, rent, utilities, financing costs and tax liabilities not affected by a decline in sales need to be properly managed. Can costs can be spread rather than paying in one lump sum (e.g. car insurance).
Review mortgage payments
Banks will be lending cheaply. Advise all clients (businesses or not) to consider remortgaging. Mortgages are based on past data, which will invariably be better for these past three years – defer applying and that may mean lending based on reduced profit figures making it more difficult to get a mortgage.
IR35 delay added to £330bn virus aid package
The government’s £330bn “Whatever it takes” response to the economic impact of coronavirus also brought comfort to freelancers with a 12-month delay to the IR35 off-payroll rules for private sector engagers.
Please note these are the measures in place as at 18 March 2020, there are likely to be many more to follow.
Please stay safe everyone and if you need any further information do not hesitate to contact me and I will do the best I can to assist you.
Kindest Regards,
Karen Butler