SEIS Tax Relief

beccauk

I've made some small investments in companies on Crowdcube (£10-£100 per company). Many of these are SEIS and EIS eligible.

I won't be paying any income tax this tax year as I don't currently have a job. I'll probably receive a tax refund circa £250 from investment income.

I've been reading up on SEIS tax relief and I'm confused regarding what, and when, I can claim. HMRC states that tax relief is available so long as there is a tax liability to offset it against in that tax year. However, they also talk about the possibility of claiming up to five years in the future.

Does this mean I can carry these SEIS reliefs forward to a future tax year where I'll have a liability? Or does this mean that, while I can claim in the future, it'll only be for this tax year?

jimmo

beccauk wrote: »

Does this mean I can carry these SEIS reliefs forward to a future tax year where I'll have a liability?

No. You can only claim relief for the year in which the shares were issued or the year before that.
Assuming the shares have been issued to you during the current year, 2015/16, you are able to claim relief for 2014/15 if you paid tax that year. If not, you cannot claim.
The 5 year rule is about how long you have to make your claim.
The general time limit for making claims is 4 years but the time limit for claiming EIS and SEIS relief is 5 years, presumably because you cannot make a claim until you have the appropriate EIS3 or equivalent and the company may not be able to issue that in the year in which they issue the shares.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enterprise-investment-scheme-income-tax-relief-hs341-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs341-enterprise-investment-scheme-income-tax-relief-2015