He says people with children have a matter of days left to act – or risk losing out on grants for up to £14,000 – which are funded by the government.
Writing in his weekly Money Saving Expert newsletter, he said: “The deadline to apply for the 2nd Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant is this Monday (19 Oct).
“DON’T assume you don’t qualify.”
The scheme offers a non-repayable, taxable grant, worth up to £6,570, made up of 3 months’ worth (of 70%) of average trading profits.
However, some parents might be able to get as much as £14,000, reports the Mirror.
That’s because under the original rules, new parents who didn’t submit a 2018/19 tax return – or posted trading profits that were less than 50% of their income – weren’t eligible to claim.
That changed in August, meaning these parents can now apply for the money.
HMRC said it will use your 2016/17 and 2017/18 tax returns to work out eligibility if you were pregnant, gave birth or caring for a child under the age of one – or had adopted a child who had been with you for less than a year.
Parents also need to have been self-employed in 2017/18 and submitted a tax return for the year before April 23, 2020.
Martin also had some words of reassurance to people worried about qualifying for the scheme.
“HM Revenue & Customs should’ve contacted those who are eligible, but many may be put off applying, as you need to declare an adverse impact due to Covid-19 since 14 July,” Martin wrote.
“Yet don’t panic, as that could just be, say, a reduction in trade, staff illness or extra PPE costs.”
It’s not the last time you’ll be able to claim for a loss of work either.
There will be two more grants, one to cover the three months from November to January, and a second to cover February through to April.
But the next one is only worth 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875 – rather than the 70% up to £6,750 the last one was.
There’s a chance the second grant in January will be worth more, however, with the Treasury saying it “may be adjusted to respond to changing circumstances”.