Advance assurance, compliance statements and investor certificates done right.
SEIS and EIS accounting is where a single missed condition can cost your investors their tax relief and your raise its momentum. Zmartly handles the full lifecycle for UK startups and SMEs: advance assurance, share issues, the compliance statements HMRC actually requires, and the SEIS3/EIS3 certificates your investors need to claim. CIMA-regulated, fixed-fee, with a named accountant who knows the small print that generalists get wrong.
We prepare and submit your advance assurance application to HMRC so prospective investors have confidence the round qualifies before they commit. This means a clean business plan, share structure, use-of-funds breakdown and details of named or prospective investors packaged the way HMRC's Venture Capital Reliefs team expects, cutting back-and-forth and avoiding the rejections that stall a raise.
Before you spend money raising, we stress-test the company against the SEIS and EIS conditions: qualifying trade, UK permanent establishment, gross-assets and employee limits, age-of-trade rules, and the independence and control tests. We flag dealbreakers early, such as substantial non-qualifying activities or a group structure that needs unwinding, so you don't discover the problem after shares are issued.
Once shares are issued and the qualifying spend or trading conditions are met, we file the SEIS1/EIS1 compliance statement with HMRC and, on authorisation, issue the SEIS3/EIS3 certificates your investors use to claim relief. We track the timing carefully because relief cannot be claimed until the certificates are in investors' hands, and getting this wrong is the most common cause of investor complaints.
Most early-stage companies use SEIS first (up to a £250,000 raise, 50% income tax relief for investors) and move to EIS as they grow (30% relief, with the gross-assets limit rising). We model the optimal split across a single round or sequential rounds, keep you inside the SEIS lifetime limit, and make sure the SEIS money is genuinely spent before EIS shares are issued.
SEIS and EIS relief depends on shares being full-risk ordinary shares, paid up in cash, with no preferential rights or pre-arranged exits. We handle the share-issue mechanics, board and shareholder paperwork, SH01 filing at Companies House, and a clean cap table, and coordinate the funding-round valuation so your option pool and EMI scheme sit correctly alongside the new investment.
Relief is only secured if conditions hold for three years after the shares are issued. We monitor the period for value-receipt, redemption and disqualifying-event risks, keep your bookkeeping on Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage, and prepare the corporation tax return and statutory accounts, including any R&D claim, alongside your investment so nothing inadvertently withdraws investor relief.
SEIS and EIS are two government schemes that reward people for backing young UK companies. The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) is for the earliest stage. The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is for companies a little further along. Both give your investors a set of tax breaks in return for the risk they take.
For your investors, the headline is income tax relief. On top of that sit capital gains reliefs and loss relief if things go wrong. For your company, the schemes make a raise far easier, because the tax breaks do a lot of the selling for you.
The rules are strict, and one slip can withdraw the relief from every investor at once. That is the part we take off your hands.
This is the reason most investors say yes. Under SEIS, an investor claims back 50% of what they put in against their income tax bill, on up to £200,000 a year. Put in £20,000 and £10,000 comes off their tax.
Under EIS, the relief is 30%, on investments of up to £1 million a year. That rises to £2 million a year when the money goes into knowledge-intensive companies, the ones that do a lot of research or development.
Investors can also carry the relief back one tax year. If they have already used this year’s allowance, they can set the investment against last year’s income instead. We make sure the certificates reach them in time to do this.
See also: wider tax planning for founders
You work with one named, qualified accountant who knows your raise, not a rotating support desk. SEIS and EIS work rewards continuity, because the person who structured the share issue is the right person to file the compliance statement two years later.
Transparent fixed fees of £129, £250 or £499 per month on a rolling monthly basis, with no tie-in. You know the cost before the work starts, which matters when you're managing a tight pre-revenue runway.
We reply to queries within 72 hours, so time-sensitive questions during a live raise don't sit unanswered. Every engagement carries a 30-day money-back guarantee, so trying us carries no risk.
Plenty of accountants can submit an EIS1. The value is in spotting what quietly disqualifies relief, a preferential share right, value received by an investor, money spent on a non-qualifying activity, before it becomes irreversible. That defensive eye is built into how we work.
We work in Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage, so your bookkeeping, cap table and year-end all stay in one place and your investor reporting stays clean as you scale from SEIS to EIS rounds.
Income tax relief is only the start. Hold SEIS or EIS shares for at least three years and any gain when they are sold is free of capital gains tax.
SEIS adds reinvestment relief. An investor who puts a capital gain into SEIS shares can wipe out the tax on half of that gain, up to the £200,000 limit. EIS instead offers deferral relief, which lets an investor postpone a gain by rolling it into EIS shares.
See also: how capital gains tax on shares works
Most serious investors will not commit until HMRC has confirmed your company looks like it qualifies. That confirmation is called advance assurance, and it works as a gating document for the whole raise.
To apply, HMRC wants your business plan, financial forecasts, an up-to-date set of accounts, your articles of association, the amount you plan to raise, and details of at least one likely investor. HMRC currently takes several weeks to reply.
We build the whole application, answer any questions HMRC comes back with, and hand you the assurance letter you can show to backers.
Advance assurance is not the same as the relief. Your investors can only claim once the shares are issued and your company has filed a compliance statement, the SEIS1 or EIS1 form, with HMRC.
You can file it once the company has been trading for at least four months, or has spent at least 70% of the SEIS money, whichever comes first. HMRC checks the statement, then authorises you to issue SEIS3 or EIS3 certificates to each investor.
Those certificates are what an investor attaches to their tax return to claim. Get the timing or the paperwork wrong and the claim stalls, which is the most common cause of investor complaints. We run this whole flow for you.
Early-stage investing is risky, and the schemes soften the downside. If a SEIS or EIS company fails, investors can set their loss against their income or their capital gains.
Because the loss is reduced by the income tax relief already claimed, a higher-rate investor can end up with only a small fraction of their money truly at risk. This is worth spelling out to backers, and we help you present it clearly in your investment pack.
The EIS rules grew more generous from 6 April 2026. A company can now raise up to £10 million a year under EIS, up from £5 million, and up to £24 million over its lifetime. Knowledge-intensive companies can raise up to £20 million a year and £40 million in total.
The gross assets test rose too. Your company can now hold up to £30 million of gross assets before the share issue and £35 million after, well above the old £15 million ceiling. Income tax relief stays available for shares issued before 6 April 2035.
SEIS limits are unchanged: up to £250,000 a raise, gross assets under £350,000, and fewer than 25 employees when the shares are issued.
We work both sides of a raise. For companies, we confirm you qualify, secure advance assurance, handle the share issue and Companies House filing, submit the compliance statement, and keep you inside the three-year rules that protect the relief.
For investors, we check that a company genuinely qualifies before you commit, make sure your certificate arrives in time to claim, and fold the relief into your Self Assessment. Whichever side you are on, you get one named, qualified accountant who does this work all year round.
See also: your company tax return and accountsR&D tax credits for innovative companies
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SEIS tax relief is a set of tax breaks for people who invest in very early-stage UK companies through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. An investor gets 50% of their investment back against their income tax bill, on up to £200,000 a year. Gains on the shares are free of capital gains tax after three years, and losses can be set against income if the company fails. A company can raise up to £250,000 in total under SEIS.
EIS tax relief rewards investors who back slightly more established UK companies through the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Investors claim 30% of their investment against income tax, on up to £1m a year (£2m for knowledge-intensive companies). Shares held three years are free of capital gains tax, gains can be deferred, and losses qualify for relief. From 6 April 2026 a company can raise up to £10m a year and £24m over its lifetime under EIS.
SEIS allows up to £250,000 total in the first 3 years of trading, with the company having gross assets under £350,000 and fewer than 25 employees at investment. Since 6 April 2026 EIS allows up to £10m per year and £24m lifetime (£20m and £40m for knowledge-intensive companies), with gross assets up to £30m before the share issue. You can use SEIS first then EIS, we typically structure rounds to maximise both reliefs across staged investments.
SEIS investors get 50% income tax relief on up to £200,000 per year, plus CGT exemption on gains from the SEIS shares after 3 years, and 50% CGT reinvestment relief on disposals reinvested into SEIS. EIS gives 30% income tax relief on up to £1m per year (£2m if knowledge-intensive), CGT deferral, and loss relief against income if the company fails. These are the most generous startup investment reliefs anywhere in the OECD.
HMRC currently takes 4-12 weeks to respond, with the queue moving slower than it did pre-2023. The application needs the business plan, financial forecasts, draft pitch deck, articles, and at least one named potential investor. We prepare the whole pack and respond to any HMRC queries on your behalf. Without Advance Assurance, most professional investors won't commit, it's effectively a gating document.
Substantial changes to share rights, the company ceasing to trade, falling into excluded activities (property, financial trades, legal services, etc.), share buybacks, or value being returned to investors outside normal dividends. Disqualification triggers full clawback of investor relief, a guaranteed way to destroy your investor relationships. We monitor your filings, board minutes, and trading activity quarterly to catch issues before they bite.
We apply for compliance approval after the company has been trading for 4 months (or spent 70% of the raised funds, whichever is sooner). HMRC typically returns the EIS1 compliance certificate within 8-12 weeks, after which we issue SEIS3/EIS3 forms to each investor so they can claim their relief. Faster turnaround than waiting on solicitors, we handle the whole HMRC-side flow.
I’ve had an excellent experience working with Zmartly. Harvey and the team are professional, responsive, and genuinely supportive. They explain things clearly, stay on top of deadlines, and always look for practical ways to save tax and improve…
I’ve used several accountants in the past, but hands down there is no one better than Harvey at Zmartly. He really understands exactly what advice you’re looking for and explains everything clearly and professionally. Nothing ever feels rushed…
I started working with Zmartly Accountants after having serious issues with my previous accounting firm. They were missing deadlines, incorrectly calculating VAT, constantly late, and extremely difficult and frustrating to communicate with. Switching to Zmartly was a huge…
I've had a terrible experience with multiple accountants. Zmartly have been incredible. If you do ecommerce / Amazon FBA you definitely need to go with someone who understands the complexities with it. Thanks to Harvey and his amazing…
Its not easy to find accountants who understand ecommerce especially Amazon and these guys know Amazon very well. Always helps us with advice if they spot something we incorrectly. Super easy to speak with someone if you have…
I’ve had an excellent experience working with Zmartly. Harvey and the team are professional, responsive, and genuinely supportive. They explain things clearly, stay on top of deadlines, and always look for practical ways to save tax and improve…
I’ve used several accountants in the past, but hands down there is no one better than Harvey at Zmartly. He really understands exactly what advice you’re looking for and explains everything clearly and professionally. Nothing ever feels rushed…
I started working with Zmartly Accountants after having serious issues with my previous accounting firm. They were missing deadlines, incorrectly calculating VAT, constantly late, and extremely difficult and frustrating to communicate with. Switching to Zmartly was a huge…
I've had a terrible experience with multiple accountants. Zmartly have been incredible. If you do ecommerce / Amazon FBA you definitely need to go with someone who understands the complexities with it. Thanks to Harvey and his amazing…
Its not easy to find accountants who understand ecommerce especially Amazon and these guys know Amazon very well. Always helps us with advice if they spot something we incorrectly. Super easy to speak with someone if you have…
Thirty minutes with a qualified accountant. Most owners uncover £1,000-£3,000 in annual savings on the first call. If we are not the right fit, you walk away with a free tax review on the house.
