Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS)
Open continuously
No deadline — apply whenever you are ready.
A company can receive a maximum of £250,000 through SEIS over its lifetime. NOTE: SEIS is an INVESTOR tax relief, not money paid to the company — HMRC gives income tax and CGT reliefs to individuals who subscribe for shares. It is recorded here as a tax_credit because SEIS status is in practice a precondition for most UK pre-seed rounds and materially improves a startup's ability to raise; the £250,000 is the cap on qualifying investment the company may take in, not a grant.
HM Revenue & Customs
public · national
Deadline: rolling — No deadline; advance assurance can be requested at any time, and the compliance statement is filed after shares are issued.
This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.
Major bid — written case, budget, possibly partners.
Who can apply
- Under 3 years old
- Up to 25 employees
- micro enterprises
- Stage: idea, pre_seed, seed
- Locally registered entity required
If already carrying out a qualifying trade, it must not have been carried out for more than 3 years. Gross assets must not exceed £350,000 when the shares are issued, and the company must have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees. Certain trades are excluded.
How to apply
- Optionally apply to HMRC for advance assurance that the proposed share issue will qualify.
- Issue the shares to investors.
- Once you have carried out the qualifying trade for at least 4 months or spent at least 70% of the money raised, submit compliance statement form SEIS1 to HMRC.
- HMRC issues compliance certificates (SEIS3) for you to pass to investors.
What you will need
- Compliance statement (form SEIS1)
- Business plan and financial forecasts (if applicable)
Source. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-apply-to-use-the-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme — checked 2026-08-14
"You can receive a maximum of £250,000 through Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme."