For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, the investor-facing numbers are the ones most angels already know: SEIS gives 50% income tax relief on up to £200,000 a year, EIS gives 30% on up to £1 million (£2 million if part of it goes to knowledge-intensive firms), and both need a three-year hold. What actually shifted this April sits on the company side of EIS - the gross-assets, age and funding-cap tests a startup has to pass before any of that relief is available to you.
So this is the reference page. Every limit that matters, grouped the way you actually use them: what you can claim as an investor, and what the company has to look like for the claim to stick. The figures here track HMRC's venture capital scheme guidance as updated on 6 April 2026; where a number can move with a company's circumstances, we've linked the primary source so you can check the live position.
What are the SEIS limits for investors in 2026?
SEIS - the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme - is the more generous of the two because it targets the riskiest end: brand new companies. The trade for that risk is a richer set of reliefs.
- Income tax relief: 50%. Invest £20,000 and you can knock £10,000 off your income tax bill, provided you have enough liability to absorb it.
- Annual cap: £200,000. The most you can put into SEIS-qualifying shares and still get relief, per tax year.
- Holding period: 3 years. Sell inside that window and the income tax relief is clawed back.
- CGT reinvestment relief: 50% of a chargeable gain you reinvest into SEIS shares is exempt, on up to £100,000 of investment a year.
- Tax-free growth. Gains on the SEIS shares themselves are exempt from capital gains tax if you held them for at least three years and claimed the income tax relief.
- Loss relief. If the company fails, the loss (net of relief already given) can be set against income or gains - the cushion that makes the maths bearable.
- Carry-back. You can treat an SEIS investment as made in the previous tax year, pulling the relief back to where your bill was higher.
The detail HMRC sets out in full on its SEIS background guidance; worth a read before you rely on any single line of it.
Which companies qualify for SEIS?
SEIS is deliberately narrow. The relief only attaches if the company clears all of these at the point the shares are issued:
- Under three years of trading.
- Fewer than 25 full-time-equivalent employees.
- Gross assets under £350,000 at the time of the share issue.
- A total SEIS raise capped at £250,000 across the company's life.
Miss one and the round simply isn't SEIS - which is why advance assurance from HMRC matters so much, and why a company that has already raised its £250,000 will usually move you onto EIS for the next tranche.
What are the EIS limits for investors in 2026?
EIS - the Enterprise Investment Scheme - is the bigger sibling. Lower relief rate, much higher ceiling, and it's where most serious follow-on money goes once a company has outgrown SEIS.
- Income tax relief: 30%. £100,000 invested, up to £30,000 off the bill.
- Annual cap: £1 million - rising to £2 million if at least £1 million of it goes into knowledge-intensive companies (the R&D-heavy firms HMRC treats more generously).
- Holding period: 3 years.
- CGT deferral relief. You can defer a chargeable gain by reinvesting it into EIS shares - the gain comes back into charge later, but the timing can be valuable.
- Tax-free growth on the EIS shares if held three years or more with relief claimed.
- Loss relief and carry-back to the previous tax year both apply, as with SEIS.
What are the EIS company-side limits after April 2026?
This is the part that moved. From 6 April 2026, HMRC's EIS guidance for companies sets the standard thresholds as follows - and these are the figures you should treat as current rather than the older, lower ones still floating around in dated explainers:
- Gross assets: no more than £30 million before the shares are issued, and no more than £35 million immediately after.
- Annual raise: up to £10 million across all the venture capital schemes combined, in any 12-month period.
- Lifetime raise: up to £24 million from those combined schemes over the company's life.
- Employees: fewer than 250 full-time equivalents when the shares are issued.
- Age: generally within seven years of the company's first commercial sale.
Knowledge-intensive companies get more headroom: broadly up to £20 million a year, fewer than 500 employees, and a 10-year window from first commercial sale. The qualifying tests for that status are technical, so HMRC keeps them on a separate knowledge-intensive guidance page. If a round hinges on the higher limits, confirm the exact position there before you commit - this is one area where the precise number genuinely depends on the company.
How does VCT compare in 2026?
Venture Capital Trusts are the listed cousin - you buy into a fund of qualifying companies rather than a single startup. The terms sit between SEIS and EIS on generosity, with one notable gap:
- Income tax relief: 20% on up to £200,000 a year.
- Holding period: 5 years - longer than either SEIS or EIS.
- Tax-free dividends and no CGT on gains.
- No loss relief. This is the one that catches people out: unlike SEIS and EIS, a VCT loss doesn't come with the same income or gains offset.
The current terms are set out on HMRC's VCT introduction page.
How do you actually claim the relief?
The mechanics are the same shape for SEIS and EIS, and easy to get wrong. The company needs HMRC advance assurance before the raise - a pre-investment sign-off that it expects to qualify. After the shares are issued and the company has been trading long enough, it issues you an SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate. That certificate is what you use to claim, either through your self-assessment return or by writing to HMRC.
Two practical points. First, you generally need to be a UK taxpayer with enough liability to set the relief against - relief you can't use isn't refunded as cash. Second, the carry-back option means timing is a lever: an investment made early in 2026-27 can sometimes be pushed back into 2025-26 if that's where your bill sat.
And the line we'll repeat without apology: none of the above is a recommendation to invest in anything. It's how the rules work, not a view on whether a given deal is for you. The reliefs exist precisely because these are high-risk investments where capital is often lost in full. Take FCA-regulated advice before you act.
Frequently asked questions
Have the SEIS limits changed for 2026?
No. The headline SEIS figures are unchanged for the 2026 to 2027 tax year: 50% income tax relief, a maximum of £200,000 of investment per investor per year, and a minimum three-year holding period. On the company side, the £250,000 SEIS raise cap, the under-£350,000 gross-assets test, the under-three-years trading rule and the fewer-than-25-employees limit all still apply.
Can I use both SEIS and EIS in the same tax year?
Yes. The annual limits are separate. You could put up to £200,000 into SEIS-qualifying shares and up to £1 million (or £2 million where at least £1 million goes to knowledge-intensive companies) into EIS-qualifying shares in the same year, assuming each company and each share issue qualifies. The reliefs are claimed separately on the relevant certificates.
What is the carry-back rule for SEIS and EIS?
Both schemes let you treat some or all of an investment as if it had been made in the previous tax year, which can pull the income tax relief back into that earlier year. It is useful where your income, and therefore your tax bill, was higher the year before. The carry-back is to the immediately preceding tax year only, and it is still subject to that year's annual limit.
How long do I have to hold SEIS and EIS shares?
Three years from the date the shares are issued, or from when the company starts trading if that is later, for both SEIS and EIS. Sell or otherwise dispose of the shares inside that window and HMRC can claw back the income tax relief. VCT shares have a longer five-year minimum holding period.
Do I need to be a UK taxpayer to claim SEIS or EIS relief?
Broadly, yes. The reliefs reduce a UK income tax or capital gains tax bill, so you generally need to be a UK taxpayer with enough liability to set the relief against. The company must also have HMRC advance assurance and issue you an SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate before you can claim. This is general information, not tax or investment advice - check your own position with an FCA-regulated or suitably qualified adviser.