Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)

Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is a government tax relief for startup investment in the UK. HMRC tax relief scheme that helps very young UK companies raise up to £250,000 of equity by giving individual investors 50% Income Tax relief on up to £200,000 a year of new shares, plus Capital Gains Tax reinvestment relief. The company must be less than 3 years old, with gross assets of no more than £350,000 and fewer than 25 employees when the shares are issued.

What it offers

• “You can receive a maximum of £250,000 through Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme.” — gov.uk
• “offers tax reliefs to individual investors who buy new shares in your company” — gov.uk
• “Subject to what follows, you can get relief at the rate of 50% on the aggregate of the amounts claimed for shares issued to you in tax year 2025 to 2026.” — gov.uk
• “The maximum amount of SEIS Income Tax relief that can be claimed is £200,000, therefore the maximum amount of reinvestment relief which can be claimed is £100,000.” — gov.uk
• “The SEIS underwent a large expansion effective from April 2023” — gov.uk
• “As part of the expansion, the limit on the amount of investment that companies can raise increased from £150,000 to £250,000.” — gov.uk
• “We will send you a letter of authorisation, a unique reference number and a compliance certificate (form SEIS3) to give to your investors.” — gov.uk

Who can apply

• “Your company (or group of companies if you're a parent company) may qualify if it is less than 3 years old, and at the time of investment has:” — gov.uk
• “not have gross assets over £350,000 when the shares are issued” — gov.uk
• “have less than 25 full-time equivalent employees in total when the shares are issued” — gov.uk
• “is established in the UK” — gov.uk
• “You cannot use the Seed Investment Enterprise Scheme, if you've received investment through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or from a venture capital trust (VCT).” — gov.uk
• “The money raised by the new share issue must be spent within 3 years of the share issue.” — gov.uk
• “You must follow the scheme rules for at least 3 years after the investment is made — otherwise tax relief will be withdrawn from your investors.” — gov.uk

Stages

Pre-seed, Seed

How to apply

Apply or read the rules on the official site.

About this listing

TrustList compiled this listing from Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)'s official pages in September 2026. The quotes above are its own words. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility rules change, so check the official site before you rely on them.