GOV.UK’s advance assurance guidance says you are asking whether an investment would meet the scheme conditions, so you can show investors that it may qualify. It will not tell you whether a particular investor meets the investor rules.

HMRC’s own page is explicit that assurance is only about certain conditions, based on the information the company provided. It is not a general endorsement and it is not a comment on whether the investment will perform. If the share rights, the use of the money or the trade change after the letter, tell HMRC in the compliance statement or the assurance no longer applies.

Which scheme you are actually using

SEIS and EIS are different limits and different reliefs. The company-facing overview, updated on 6 April 2026, is use a venture capital scheme to raise money. Read that page before you put a number in a deck. The notes below are a map, not a substitute.

SEIS, in the terms that page uses. A company may qualify if it is less than three years old and, at the time of the investment, has no more than £350,000 in gross assets, fewer than 25 employees, and has not previously carried out a different trade. You will not qualify for SEIS if you have already received investment through EIS or a VCT. The maximum a company can raise through SEIS is £250,000. The SEIS application page repeats that cap and explains how earlier de minimis aid counts: apply to use SEIS.

EIS, for most companies, from the same 6 April 2026 update. The company may qualify if it has fewer than 250 employees, it is no more than seven years since its first commercial sale, and it has no more than £30 million in gross assets (£15 million for specified companies). The lifetime amount most companies can raise under EIS and VCT together is £24 million. Companies carrying on research, development or innovation may be able to raise more if they meet the knowledge-intensive conditions. Specified companies - including certain Northern Ireland trades in goods or wholesale electricity - stay on the lower limits. The policy note that sets out the annual and lifetime increases from 6 April 2026 is this HMRC tax information and impact note. If your round is close to a limit, use the live guidance and a lawyer, not a blog summary.

The company also needs a UK permanent establishment, a qualifying trade, and a plan to spend the money on that trade. It must be unlisted at the time of the investment and not controlled by another company. Some trades are excluded, including property development, leasing, hotels, financial services and energy generation. The list is in the HMRC manual linked from that GOV.UK page. The test is what you do with the money, not the word “tech” in the deck.

What investors can claim, separately

Investor relief is the investor’s claim, not the company’s. The comparison table on tax relief for investors, also updated on 6 April 2026, shows:

  • SEIS: income tax relief on investments up to £200,000 in a tax year, at 50% of the amount invested.
  • EIS: relief at 30%, on up to £1 million, or up to £2 million if at least £1 million of that is in knowledge-intensive companies.

Relief cannot exceed the income tax the investor owes, and unused income tax relief is not carried forward. Other reliefs can apply if the holding conditions are met. Do not put a personal tax saving in a slide. Advance assurance does not check the investor.

Checklist before you apply

HMRC’s advance assurance page says you will usually need details of potential investors, and that you should check the scheme conditions first. For a first SEIS or EIS raise, have these in one folder:

  1. How much you plan to raise, and which scheme.
  2. A business plan and financial forecasts that match the use of funds you will describe.
  3. Latest accounts, if you have them. If you do not, say so. Do not send a forecast labelled as accounts.
  4. Which companies in the group will use the money, and what share of the spend sits on each activity.
  5. An up-to-date memorandum and articles, plus any changes you expect to make before the issue.
  6. The register of members at the date you apply.
  7. The latest draft of the document you are using with investors.
  8. Any other agreement between the company and those shareholders.
  9. A short explanation of how you meet the risk-to-capital condition: the company has objectives to grow and develop its trade, and the investor’s capital is at risk. The advance assurance page asks for this even if you have used a scheme before.
  10. For EIS, how the money will be used for growth and development.
  11. Investor names and addresses if you are raising directly and this is your first use of the scheme. A fund manager, promoter or crowdfunding platform needs evidence they have agreed to act. AIM has its own rule on that page.
  12. If an agent applies for you, a letter from a director authorising them, dated within the last three months.

Apply before you issue the shares. Each proposed investment needs its own application. The form is online. Social Investment Tax Relief is not available for investments made on or after 6 April 2023.

After the money is in

Assurance is not the end. If you go ahead, the company submits a compliance statement (SEIS1 or EIS1). HMRC reviews it. If they are satisfied, they issue SEIS2 or EIS2 with a Unique Investment Reference, and the company can then issue SEIS3 or EIS3 certificates to the investors named on the statement. The investor guide linked above explains that sequence, and that a certificate only shows HMRC was satisfied the company met the company conditions. The investor still has to meet the investor conditions.

Tell HMRC about changes since the assurance application when you file that statement. Investors generally have to hold the shares for the period the scheme requires, or relief can be withdrawn. The holding rules are on the investor guidance. Do not paraphrase them into a side letter.

The books matter here more than founders expect. The amount raised, the share issue dates, and the spend against the plan all have to be supportable. That is ordinary Founder Finance work - a close and a cap-table story that matches the lawyers - not a special “SEIS department”. We do not complete the assurance application as a guarantee that HMRC will issue the letter. The checklist above is the preparation. The decision is HMRC’s.

Frequently asked questions

Does advance assurance mean my investors will get the tax relief?

No. It is HMRC’s view, on the information you provided, that the company and the share issue are likely to meet scheme conditions. Each investor still has to qualify, and the company still has to file a compliance statement after the shares are issued.

Should we apply for SEIS and EIS on the same round?

Often a company uses SEIS first, because EIS or VCT money already received can stop a later SEIS claim. The order and the caps are on the GOV.UK pages linked above. Do not assume a blended round works without checking the “already had EIS or VCT” rule.

What if we do not yet know the investors’ names?

HMRC says that if you have not used the scheme before you will have to give details of prospective investors, unless a specific exception on the advance assurance page applies (for example an AIM listing, or a fund or platform that has agreed to act). If you cannot name anyone, read that section before you spend a week on the rest of the pack.

How long does advance assurance take?

HMRC’s public page says they will contact you when they make a decision. It does not promise a number of days. Plan the round so you are not issuing shares while you are still waiting, and do not tell investors the letter is a formality.

General information for UK founders, not advice on your own facts. Tax and company-law rules change. Check the linked GOV.UK pages and take advice before you rely on a figure.