Self-employed taxpayers who qualify have been given times from which they can claim their taxable grant.
The earliest was 8am today and I was delighted when my first claiming client got in touch to let me know that this worked and was straightforward.
Anyone self employed who has not yet checked eligibility, this can be done here
https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/self-employment-support/enter-unique-taxpayer-reference
Then claims are made by logging into Gateway. The option to claim will only appear in each person’s Gateway account at the ‘not before’ time assigned to them. The eligibility checker gives the earliest time to apply – these are staggered to spread claims and help the system hold up. Or if you run (or rerun) the checker when your time for claiming has already arrived, the checker will send you on to claim straight away.
https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services
A successful claim will be confirmed with a claim submitted grant awarded message on screen.
Anyone claiming should take screenshots or pictures as they go, especially of the calculation shown. There is an option at the end to save a copy of the claim reference as well.