Self-isolation period lowers to 10 days - will Test & Trace Support payments be affected?

The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme was launched in recent months to provide support to those on a low income who have had to self-isolate due to coronavirus. So long as a claimant is eligible, they will receive a £500 payment from their local authority.

Where payments are awarded, affected recipients should contact their local authorities to find out how to apply.

To process an application affectively, the following information will be needed:

• an NHS Test and Trace Account ID, sometimes referred to as a CTAS number
• proof of receipt of one of the qualifying benefits
• a bank statement
• proof of employment or, if the claimant is self-employed, evidence of self-assessment returns, trading income and proof that their business delivers services that cannot be undertaken without social contact

As she confirmed at the time: “We suggest the Government reviews its decision to tax its payments.

“If they are paid gross by the local authority, recipients’ tax affairs could be vastly complicated.

“It is not clear how claimants of the payment will be informed about the potential tax liability.

“If a taxpayer is employed, HMRC will most likely try and collect the tax due by adjusting their PAYE code.

“Collecting tax in this way can lead to confusion if the person does not understand why the tax taken from the other source of income is higher than expected.

“The PAYE coding facility does not always work well. Codes can be fiendishly complicated to understand and check – and because tax is collected on an estimated basis, you may not have paid the right tax overall by the end of the tax year.

“If insufficient tax is paid, for example because someone loses their job, we believe that HMRC will try to identify and tax the payment in the end of year reconciliation process. This could leave individuals with an unexpected tax debt.”