--- title: "How to use Instant Investment to raise money before the end of the tax year" id: "4709" type: "post" slug: "how-to-benefit-from-instant-investment-before-the-end-of-the-tax-year" published_at: "2020-03-13T12:03:01+00:00" modified_at: "2025-01-06T12:21:00+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-to-benefit-from-instant-investment-before-the-end-of-the-tax-year/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-to-benefit-from-instant-investment-before-the-end-of-the-tax-year.md" excerpt: "Some prospective investors hurry to invest in January, February or March. We explain why the tax year end creates an investment hot-spot and how to use Instant Investment to raise money now." taxonomy_category: - "Funding Guides" --- 2 min read Expert reviewed This article has been fact-checked by a SeedLegals subject matter expert. [Meet our experts](https://seedlegals.com/authors-and-experts/) and learn more about our review process and quality assurance in our [editorial policy](https://seedlegals.com/editorial-policy/) . # How to use Instant Investment to raise money before the end of the tax year Published: Mar 13, 2020 Updated: Jan 06, 2025 Contents [The S/EIS rules make 5 April an investment deadline](#the-seis-rules-make-5-april-an-investment-deadline) [Use Instant Investment to top up a round](#use-instant-investment-to-top-up-a-round) [Talk to an expert](#talk-to-an-expert) [Writer Vasu Sarin Head of business development](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/vasu-sarin/) [Editor Suzanne Worthington Senior Writer](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/suzanne/) Do your prospective investors suddenly seem in a hurry to invest in January, February or March? Maybe you’ve noticed an increased appetite from investors to sign the paperwork with your company before the end of the tax year (5 April). The deadline of the tax year end creates one of the [investment hot-spots](https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-to-close-funding-round-before-end-of-tax-year/#hotspots) in the calendar year. This is because many investors are keen to close deals to get their S/EIS tax relief for the current tax year. Whether or not you’ve seen an increase in investor appetite, in this post we explain the benefits of investing before the end of the tax year, and how to help investors make the most of their SEIS or EIS tax relief by using [Instant Investment](https://seedlegals.com/raise/top-up-a-round/) . ## The S/EIS rules make 5 April an investment deadline The government created the Enterprise Investment Schemes – [SEIS](https://seedlegals.com/resources/seis/) and [EIS](https://seedlegals.com/resources/eis-scheme/) – to incentivise investment to UK early stage companies. The two schemes are similar, but have some important differences: - SEIS is focused on very early stage companies. The scheme allows an individual to invest up to £200,000 per tax year in exchange for 50% Income Tax relief. - EIS focuses on medium-sized startups. This scheme allows an individual to invest up to £1 million per tax year in exchange for 30% Income Tax relief. The SEIS and EIS tax relief allowance (£200,000 for SEIS and £1M for EIS) can be claimed for the same tax year as the investment is made, or for the preceding tax year – this is known as carry-back. For example; if an investor makes an investment of £50,000 which qualifies for SEIS in this tax year (2024-25), they can claim Income Tax relief for *this* tax year or they can carry back to the *previous* tax year (2023-24). Does your investor want to offset their investment against their Income Tax for the 2024-25 tax year? If so, they’ll need to hurry because they have only until 5 April 2025 to make that investment. ## Use Instant Investment to top up a round At SeedLegals, we make it simple for companies to take an investment quickly anytime – we call this agile fundraising. As we approach the end of the financial year, SeedLegals [Instant Investment](https://seedlegals.com/instant-investment) agreements are a popular way to take a one-off investment without the stress, expense and time-consuming process of doing a traditional funding round. Could you use Instant Investment to take an investment now? Here are some questions to consider: - Have you recently closed a round but still have investors who want to invest? Could their background/connections/ involvement be beneficial to you *now* rather than waiting to onboard them in a later round? - Could your company benefit from a cash injection now to accelerate growth, but you don’t have time to go through a traditional funding round? - Did you close a funding round early because some investors took longer than you expected to decide, but now they’re ready to invest? If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these, you might be able to accept more investment via an [Instant Investment](https://seedlegals.com/raise/top-up-a-round/) now, rather than waiting to do another funding round. ##### Agile fundraising ### Raise before or after a round Sometimes, you can’t afford to wait. Our SeedFAST, SeedNOTE and Instant Investment agreements allow you to sign up investors outside of a funding round. Ready to sign in minutes. [How it works](https://seedlegals.com/raise/) ## Talk to an expert Got questions about taking investment? Not sure what funding strategy is best for your company? Our team is on hand to help every step of the way. Book a free call with one of our experts to get answers fast. Our team of experts is here to help Bring all your questions – we’ve got the answers! We’ll match you with the right specialist. [Pick a time](https://seedlegals.com/talk-to-an-expert/) ## Related posts [7 min read SeedFAST is the new seed round On SeedLegals, more companies now raise money outside a funding round than inside a round. We explain what's happening a... Anthony Rose](https://seedlegals.com/resources/seedfast-is-the-new-seed-round/) [6 min read EIS investment funds: 50 active UK funds in 2025 Find funding for your startup with our guide to 50 of the most active EIS funds in the UK. From food to fintech, there’s... Kaylin Sullivan](https://seedlegals.com/resources/most-active-eis-investment-funds-in-the-uk/) [6 min read How to find investors: Tips from a VC and funding hotspots How to make the most of funding hotspots to close your round fast. Plus other strategies to take an investment without d... Kirsty MacSween](https://seedlegals.com/resources/close-your-funding-round-fast/)