Investor guides
EIS explained for investors
The Enterprise Investment Scheme, covered guide by guide: what it gives you, the conditions attached to it, and how the claim is made.
EIS is a UK government scheme that lets individual investors claim 30% income tax relief on up to £1 million of investment a tax year into qualifying early-stage trading companies, with capital gains and loss reliefs alongside it.
It is the follow-on scheme to SEIS: a lower rate of relief, a much larger annual limit, and companies a little further along. The reliefs change what a loss costs and what a gain is worth. They do not change the underlying risk.
The reliefs at a glance
- Income tax relief
- 30% of the amount invested, on up to £1 million a tax year.
- Knowledge-intensive uplift
- Up to £2 million a year where the excess is in knowledge-intensive companies.
- Capital gains exemption
- No CGT on a gain if the shares are held three years and relief was claimed.
- Deferral relief
- A gain on any asset deferred by reinvesting it into EIS shares.
- Loss relief
- The loss after income tax relief set against income or gains.
The guides
What is EIS? A plain-English guide for investors
What EIS is, the four reliefs it carries, which companies qualify, and where it sits relative to SEIS.
Read the guideWho can invest under EIS: eligibility and the connection rules
The eligibility tests: UK tax liability, the 30% holding limit, employment and directorship, and the two-years-before, three-years-after connection window.
Read the guideEIS qualifying companies: which businesses are eligible
Permanent establishment, independence, employee and asset limits, the seven-year age rule, the qualifying business activity test and the list of excluded trades.
Read the guideEIS income tax relief: how the 30% works in practice
The calculation, the caps, carry back, and the conditions that have to hold for three years.
Read the guideEIS capital gains: exemption and deferral relief
How disposal exemption and deferral relief differ, the conditions for each, the reinvestment window, and when the deferred gain comes back into charge.
Read the guideEIS loss relief: what happens when the company fails
The net amount at risk, the choice between income and gains, worked numbers at each tax rate, and the time limits for claiming.
Read the guideEIS carry back: claiming relief against last year's tax
What carry back does, the limits that still apply, the situations where it is worth using, and how the election is made.
Read the guideEIS limits and rules: what companies and investors must meet
Company caps, gross asset tests, age limits, connection rules and the three-year holding period, with the figures that changed in April 2026.
Read the guideThe EIS three-year holding period and how relief is withdrawn
When the clock starts, what counts as a disposal, how withdrawal is calculated, and the company-side events that break the period.
Read the guideEIS advance assurance and the EIS3 certificate
What advance assurance is worth, the EIS1 to EIS2 to EIS3 sequence, the four-month trading rule, and what to check on the certificate.
Read the guideHow to claim EIS relief, step by step
The EIS3 certificate, the self assessment boxes, claiming through PAYE, carry back and the five-year time limit.
Read the guideThe risks of EIS and SEIS investing
Company failure, illiquidity, dilution, withdrawal of relief, valuation uncertainty, concentration and rule change - with what each one means in practice.
Read the guideImportant
These guides are general information, not investment, tax or legal advice. Investing in early-stage companies puts your capital at risk, the shares are illiquid, and tax reliefs depend on your own circumstances and on the company keeping its qualifying status. Take independent advice before you invest.
Related reading
SEIS, and the companies themselves
EIS is the tax framework for the round after seed. The company is still the decision.