Guidance

Tell HMRC and pay back a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant

Find out what to do if you need to pay back some or all of a SEISS grant.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 14 July 2020
• Last updated: 10 January 2022 — See all updates

You must tell HMRC if, when you made the claim, you were not eligible for the grant. For example:

• for the first or second grant, your business was not adversely affected
• for the third, fourth or fifth grant, your business had not been impacted by reduced activity, capacity or demand or inability to trade in the relevant periods
• you did not intend to continue to trade
• you’ve incorporated your business

You must also tell us if you:

• received more than we said you were entitled to
• amended any of your tax returns on or after 3 March 2021 in a way which means you’re no longer eligible or are entitled to a lower fourth or fifth grant than you received
• made a mistake reporting your turnover in your claim for the fifth grant which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received
• have received a letter or email from HMRC that says you need to pay back some or all of a grant

When you must tell HMRC

In most cases, if you’re not eligible and have to pay the grant back, you must tell us within 90 days of receiving the grant.

For the fourth and fifth grants the rules for when to tell us are different if amending your return affects your eligibility or grant amount. 

If your return has been amended

You must tell us if there is an amendment to any of your tax returns on or after 3 March 2021 which either:

• lowers the amount of fourth or fifth grant you’re eligible for 
• causes you to no longer be eligible for the fourth or fifth grant 

If your return has been amended before claiming your grant, you must tell us within 90 days of receiving your grant.

If your return has been amended after receiving your grant, you must tell us within 90 days of making the amendment.

If you do not tell us, we’ll write to you to recover the grant and you may also have to pay a penalty. Find more information on how we will recover your overpaid grant.

You do not have to tell us if the grant amount:

• you are eligible for has lowered by £100 or less
• was £100 or less

If you are not sure, you should still tell us about the amendment using the online form. 

If you made a mistake when reporting your turnover

You need to tell us if you:

• made a mistake reporting your turnover in your claim which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received
• later realise you should have reported a different turnover figure in your claim which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received

Voluntary repayments

You can also tell us if you want to voluntarily pay back some or all of the grant you received. You can do this at any time.

What you will need

You will need your:

• Government Gateway user ID and password that you used when you made your claim
• grant claim reference - you’ll find this in the online service or on your copy of the grant claim
• Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number - if you do not have this find out how to get your lost UTR

Check how to tell HMRC and pay money back

The process is different depending on why you need to pay the grant back.

Use this service to check whether you need to tell us and pay back some or all of a grant.

If you cannot use our online services

If you’re not able to use our online services, you can contact us for help.

Penalties for not telling HMRC

If you do not tell us within 90 days of your amendment, or payment of the grant, you may also have to pay a penalty.

Find more information about penalties for not telling HMRC about coronavirus (COVID-19) support scheme overpayments.

Contacting HMRC

We are receiving very high numbers of calls. Contacting HMRC unnecessarily puts our essential public services at risk during these challenging times.

But you can contact HMRC if you cannot get the help you need online.

Published 14 July 2020
Last updated 10 January 2022 + show all updates

1. 10 January 2022

   If you've received an email from HMRC, you can now check whether you need to tell HMRC and pay back a grant.

2. 1 November 2021

   If you've received a letter from HMRC you may need to pay back some or all of the grant. A new section has also been added called 'Check how to tell HMRC and pay money back'. You can use the service to check whether you need to tell HMRC and pay back a grant.

3. 28 July 2021

   Guidance about if you have amended your tax return has been updated. Guidance on what to do after you have applied has also been updated.

4. 18 May 2021

   New information added explaining when and how to tell HMRC about a tax return amendment if it affects your eligibility or grant amount. Links to more information on penalties and how HMRC can recover overpaid grants have also been added.

5. 21 April 2021

   New guidance on ‘If amending your return affects your grant amount or eligibility’ added under ‘How to tell us’ section.

6. 9 April 2021

   This guidance has been updated with information about the fourth SEISS grant.

7. 4 December 2020

   Added translation

8. 31 July 2020

   Added translation

9. 28 July 2020

   Information about when you must tell HMRC and pay the grant back has been added, also included details about when you may have to pay a penalty.

10. 14 July 2020

    First published.