{"id":2850,"date":"2020-03-23T17:52:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T17:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/2020\/swoopMW20\/?post_type=knowledge-hub&p=2850"},"modified":"2023-11-30T13:38:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T13:38:28","slug":"the-enterprise-investment-scheme-eis","status":"publish","type":"knowledge-hub","link":"https:\/\/swoopfunding.com\/ie\/knowledge-hub\/the-enterprise-investment-scheme-eis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a government tax-relief scheme that incentivises private individuals to invest in early-stage businesses. EIS allows an individual to invest up to \u20ac1m per tax year and get a 30% tax break. Any single business can raise up to \u20ac12m in EIS funding in its lifetime.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme<\/a> (SEIS) are two government tax-relief schemes that incentivise private individuals to invest in startups and early-stage businesses. The schemes therefore play a very important role in encouraging the flow of equity finance<\/a> (risk capital) from private investors to businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business is eligible, EIS and SEIS benefit you by making your business a more attractive (i.e. less risky) investment opportunity for investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From your investors’ standpoint, EIS and SEIS offer potentially significant income tax and capital gains reliefs when taxpayers invest in an EIS or SEIS eligible business. Investors may already be active investors or they may simply want to support their entrepreneurial ‘friends and family’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her Majesty\u2019s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has eligibility rules for both businesses and investors. In HMRC parlance, a potential investor would need to be eligible to invest in ‘qualifying shares’ in ‘qualifying companies’. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your business is an EIS or SEIS ‘qualifying company’ if you intend to use the investment for a ‘qualifying trade’ (which actually covers a broad range of business activities) \u2013 and there are limits on, for example, the assets and employees you can have at the time of investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eligibility criteria for SEIS<\/a> investment are different to those for EIS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find more information on the HMRC website under EIS\/SEIS Investing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are currently five tax reliefs available to investors. These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n