Furlough claims from 1 November 2020

If you are making claims under the extended furlough scheme from 1st November 2020, there have been changes in the claims process.

Perhaps the most significant is that claims need to be registered within 14 days of the relevant period’s end. In their revised guidance on this topic, HMRC says:

You can claim before, during, or after you process your payroll as long as your claim is submitted by the relevant claim deadline. You cannot submit your claim more than 14 days before your claim period end date.

When making your claim:

· You don’t have to wait until the end date of the claim period for a previous claim before making your next one

· You can make your claim more than 14 days in advance of the pay date (e.g., if you pay your employee in arrears)

If you do not finish your claim in one sitting, you can now save a draft. You must complete your claim within seven days of starting. The claims for periods from 1st July 2020 to 31st October 2020 must be submitted no later than 30th November 2020.

Your claims made from 1st November 2020, must be submitted by 11.59pm, 14 calendar days after the month you’re claiming for. If this time falls on the weekend or a bank holiday, then claims should be submitted on the next working day.

Claim for furlough days in Claim must be submitted by
November 2020 14th December 2020
December 2020 14th January 2021
January 2021 15th February 2021
February 2021 15th March 2021
March 2021 14th April 2021

But what happens if you cannot submit a claim by the deadline?

HMRC accept that there may be circumstances when a claim cannot be made within the set time limits. They confirm that you may have a reasonable excuse if:

· Your partner or another close relative died shortly before the claim deadline

· You had an unexpected stay in hospital that prevented you from submitting

· You had a severe or life-threatening illness, including Coronavirus related illnesses, which prevented you from making your claim (and no one else could claim for you)

· A period of self-isolation prevented you from making your claim (and no one else could make the claim for you)

· Your computer or software failed just before or while you were preparing your online claim

· Service issues with HMRC online services prevented you from making your claim

· A fire, flood, or theft prevented you from making your claim

· Postal delays that you could not have predicted prevented you from making your claim

· Delays related to a disability you have prevented you from making your claim

· An HMRC error prevented you from making your claim

HMRC will not consider reasonable excuses in advance of a claim deadline.

If you have any questions regarding the points raised in this article, please contact us on 01473 744 700 or email us at contactus@accountinggem.co.ukand we will be more than happy to help.