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The government has announced that self-employed parents whose trading profits took a dip in the year 2018 to 19 because they took time off to have children will be able to claim for a payment under the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS).

The scheme will require claimants to have traded in 2018/19, with their profits making up at least half of their total income. They must also have submitted a self-assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for the 2018/19 tax year.

The Treasury is ensuring that parents who took time out of trading to care for their children within the first 12 months of birth of the child or within 12 months of an adoption placement, will now be able to use either their 2017-18 or both their 2016-17 and 2017-18 self-assessment returns as the basis for their eligibility for the SEISS.

They will also need to meet the other standard eligibility criteria for support under the SEISS. Further updates for self-employed parents will be set out by the start of July in published guidance.

For more information on the SEISS scheme, click here.