You can now raise £250K SEIS

Great news for fundraising startups! These changes to the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) went live on 6 April 2023:

• UK startups can now raise up to £250K in SEIS investment (up from £150K SEIS)
• you can raise SEIS for up to 3 years from when you first began trading (up from 2 years)
• investors can now invest up to £200K each in any one tax year (up from £100K)
• your company must have less than £350K in gross assets to qualify (up from £200K)

These updates to SEIS started the Parliamentary approval process in March 2023 and were fully approved in July 2023.

In the post, we explain the changes and how to use SEIS plus EIS when you’re fundraising.

Contents

• Watch video: How to make the most of the increased SEIS allowance
• SEIS changes fully approved by Parliament
• Before July 2023, HMRC couldn’t give SEIS Advance Assurance for £250K
• Want to raise more than £250K?
• Talk to an expert

Watch video: How to make the most of the increased SEIS allowance

In this webinar recording, our CEO Anthony Rose explains how the updates to SEIS could affect your fundraising and how to make the most of the increased limits.

Webinar recording: the event took place on 19 July 2023

SEIS changes fully approved by Parliament

Back in 2022 the government announced increases to the SEIS limits –  fabulous news for UK startups and angel investors. SeedLegals was the first to explain those changes back in September 2022, showing how you could use SeedFASTs with six-month longstop dates to raise £250K SEIS starting back then.

The SEIS changes came into effect on 6 April 2023, went live on the HMRC website in early July and were given Royal Assent on 12 July 2023.

If you’re so inclined you can read the full text of the Finance Bill on the Parliament website – the SEIS changes are on page 29 of 478.

In short, the SEIS changes came into effect on 6 April 2023. But only after the bill received Royal Assent in July 2023.

Yes, it seems somewhat backwards but that’s just how these legislation changes sometimes work. Read on to find out more about what this meant for Advance Assurance applications in 2023 and how to use SEIS and EIS when you’re fundraising.

Before July 2023, HMRC couldn’t give SEIS Advance Assurance for £250K

HMRC confirmed the SEIS changes came into effect from 6 April 2023. But they couldn’t give Advance Assurance or approve SEIS Compliance submissions for the increased limits until the Finance Bill received Royal Assent.

This means:

• HMRC continued to give Advance Assurance and SEIS Compliance under the old rules until the new Bill received Royal Assent
• Now the Bill is fully approved, you can now get Advance Assurance and SEIS Compliance under the new rules for shares issued from 6 April 2023 onwards

Want to raise more than £250K? 

Even if you plan to raise only with SEIS, we encourage you to get SEIS and EIS Advance Assurance at the same time. It’s zero extra cost and zero extra effort to get EIS Advance Assurance at the same time as you get your SEIS Advance Assurance, and then you’re all set to keep raising hundreds of thousands more in EIS in the same round or later, without needing to do another Advance Assurance application later.

This is why, when you apply for Advance Assurance on SeedLegals, even if you’re planning to raise £250,000, we would encourage you to apply for £300,000 in SEIS+EIS Advance Assurance. It’s just one checkbox click and you’re sorted with EIS as well.

Talk to an expert

Ready to make the most of the new SEIS limits? Book a free call with one of our funding strategists – bring your questions to get answers fast.