The Enterprise Investment Scheme gives you Income Tax relief of 30% on new shares in qualifying unlisted companies. Enter your investment and tax bill to see the relief, what the shares really cost you, the Capital Gains Tax you can defer and where you stand if the company fails.
Shares issued in 2026/27
EIS relief is 30% of the amount you subscribe for new shares in a qualifying company, taken off your Income Tax bill for the year the shares are issued. You can claim on up to £1 million a tax year, or £2 million if at least £1 million of it is invested in knowledge-intensive companies. The relief can't be more than the Income Tax you pay, and any relief your bill is too small to absorb is lost rather than carried forward.
| Enterprise Investment Scheme | Rule |
|---|---|
| Income Tax relief | 30% |
| Most you can invest with relief | £1 million, or £2 million with knowledge-intensive companies |
| Minimum holding period | 3 years |
| CGT on your gain when you sell | None after 3 years, if you got Income Tax relief |
| CGT deferral on a reinvested gain | Yes, on 100% of the investment |
| Relief for losses against income | Yes |
You can treat some or all of the shares as issued in the previous tax year and claim the relief against that year's Income Tax, within that year's limit. That helps if your 2026/27 bill is too small to use all the relief, or if you paid more tax in 2025/26. To claim for the current year you can ask HMRC to change your tax code, or claim through your Self Assessment tax return once the company sends you its EIS3 certificate.
With deferral relief, if you use a gain from selling any asset to invest in EIS shares, you don't pay the Capital Gains Tax straight away. The investment must be made between one year before and 3 years after you sell the asset, and the tax becomes due when you dispose of the EIS shares, the company stops meeting the conditions or you become non-resident. Separately, you pay no Capital Gains Tax when you sell EIS shares after at least 3 years, as long as you got Income Tax relief on them that hasn't been reduced or withdrawn.
If you sell EIS shares at a loss, you can set the loss, less the Income Tax relief already given, against your income for the tax year you sold the shares or the year before. For example, on a £10,000 investment with £3,000 of relief, a total loss leaves £7,000 to set against income. At a 45% top rate that saves £3,150, so the most you lose is £3,850.
Work out the tax on other gains with the Capital Gains Tax calculator or the CGT on shares calculator. If you're selling a business, see the Business Asset Disposal Relief calculator, and check your Income Tax bill with the Income Tax calculator.
30% of the amount you invest, taken off your Income Tax bill, on up to £1 million a tax year, or £2 million if at least £1 million is in knowledge-intensive companies.
No. You can only claim relief against the Income Tax you pay, and unused relief can't be carried forward to later years. You can treat some of the shares as issued in the previous tax year instead.
At least 3 years. If you sell within that time, or the company stops meeting the scheme conditions, you lose some or all of the relief.
A way to postpone Capital Gains Tax by investing a gain from any asset in EIS shares between one year before and 3 years after the sale. The tax becomes due when you dispose of the shares.
You can set the loss, less the Income Tax relief already given, against your income for the tax year you sold the shares or the year before.
Once the company sends you form EIS3. You can claim up to 5 years after the 31 January following the tax year of the investment, on your tax return or, for the current year, by asking HMRC to change your tax code.
