17 February, 2022 in Industry News

February 2022 - Financial Support Update

In this CavanaghKelly update, we outline the latest Covid-19 financial support funds and highlight key tax updates and changes.

Economic Recovery Innovation Grant (ERIG)

Invest Northern Ireland’s new £4 million innovation grant for SMEs launched to support businesses in the development and implementation of innovation projects.

ERIG will provided eligible businesses with up the £5,000 (taxable) to help businesses develop new, or improve existing products, services or processes through innovation. The grant will support eligible costs, including:

  • Testing and developing new products or processes
  • Equipment
  • Skills development
  • Marketing
  • Consultancy

For further information on eligibility criteria, click here.

Applications close at 5pm on Sunday 13 March 2022, however grants are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, therefore if the available budget is allocated before this date, Invest NI reserves the right to close applications early.

For further details and to apply for the scheme, click here.

Omicron Hospitality Payment

Over 3,200 hospitality businesses may be eligible for a one-off grant payment under this newly announced financial support scheme.

Payment levels will align with the Net Annual Value (NAV) for the relevant business property, as follows:

  • £10,000 for businesses that are the primary occupant operating from a property with a Net Annual Value (NAV) up to £15,000; or businesses that are occupied as part of a property
  • £15,000 for businesses that are the primary occupant operating from a property with a Net Annual Value (NAV) between £15,001 and £51,000
  • £20,000 for businesses that are the primary occupant operating from a property with a Net Annual Value (NAV) over £51,000

Application Process:

Eligible businesses should receive a Land & Property Services email which will include a link to the online form, which businesses must complete in order to receive the payment.

If you have not previously received Localised Restrictions Support Scheme (LRSS) payments and feel your business may be eligible for this Omicron support payment, click here to find out further information on how to apply.

COVID Recovery Programme for Organisations

There are currently a number of funding schemes available for eligible organisations operating with deficits that have arisen in the 2021-22 financial year, due to the pandemic. The Department of Communities (DfC) has launched the Covid Recovery Programme, to provide awards of up to £5,000 and more organisations in exceptional circumstances.

Covid Recovery Programme funding for the relevant sectors and organisations include:

  • Arts Council
  • NI Screen
  • Sport NI
  • National Lottery Heritage Fund
  • Glór na nGael
  • Ulster-Scots Agency
  • Community Finance Ireland

For further information on these funds and the deadlines for applications, click here.

COVID-19 Support Grants Paid to Companies must be Included on Company Tax Returns

HMRC has warned that businesses must declare any coronavirus (COVID-19) support grants or payments on their company tax returns and stated that the grants and payments are taxable.

The deadline for filing company tax returns is 12 months after the end of the accounting period.

The deadline to pay corporation tax will depend on any taxable profits and when the end of the accounting period occurs. It is generally nine months after the end of the accounting period unless profits exceed £1.5 million.

Grants to be included as taxable income include:

  • Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate
  • Coronavirus Business Support Grants (also known as local authority grants or business rate grants)
  • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant
  • Eat Out to Help Out payment.

If a company received any of these payments, they will need to do both of the following on their CT600 tax return:

  • include it as income when calculating their taxable profits in line with the relevant accounting standards
  • report it separately on their company tax return using the CJRS and Eat Out to Help Out boxes.

For further information, click here.

Government Scheme Gives Discounts of up to £5,000 on Accounting Software

The government's Help to Grow: Digital scheme – designed to support smaller businesses in adopting digital technologies – is now open for applications.

Under the scheme, eligible businesses can now receive discounts of up to 50% off the costs, covering up to £5,000 off the retail price of approved digital accounting and CRM software from leading technology suppliers.

Businesses can also access practical, specialised support and advice on how to choose the right digital technologies to boost their growth and productivity.

Currently three accounting software providers are signed up to the scheme – Sage, Intuit and E-crunch. The next phase of the programme will see the scheme extended to e-commerce software.

For further information, click here.

Claims Portal Reopens for Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme

HMRC has reopened a claims portal for small employers to again claim refunds for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related sick pay.

The reopening follows the announcement of the reintroduction of the Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme (SSPRS) from 21 December 2021 for employers with fewer than 250 employees by the government.

The maximum claim per employee is two weeks at the statutory sick pay (SSP) rate of £96.35 per week (£192.70 in total). The employer's claim is also capped at the number of employees in its PAYE scheme on 30 November 2021.

The claims portal reopened on 19 January 2022 and employers can check the eligibility of their claims on GOV.UK.

HM Treasury and HMRC have not announced an end date for the SSPRS. However, the legislation states that a claim may not be made after the end of 24 March 2022.

For further information, click here.

Whilst every effort has been made by CavanaghKelly to ensure the accuracy of the information here, it cannot be guaranteed and neither CavanaghKelly nor any related entity shall have liability to any person who relies on the information herein. Information given here is for guidance only. Detailed professional advice should be taken before acting on any information contained herein. If having read the guidance here, you would like to discuss further; a member of our team would be pleased to help you.