Seed EIS and EIS
Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) certificates, which HMRC call SEIS3, have already been applied for from HMRC and sent out to members who qualify – our early investors.
Most people will be waiting for their EIS certificates. EIS works slightly differently in that the Co-operative could only apply to HMRC for the certificates (EIS3) to be sent out after the co-op had been trading for four months.
As the Co-operative began supplying electricity to the grid in October 2013, this happened in February 2014. Depending on HMRC processing time, members should have had their certificates by the end of March 2014.
The process for claiming EIS or SEIS is relatively simple:
Self-Assessment – If you do Self-Assessment, your claim can be made on the Self-Assessment tax return for the tax year in which the shares were issued (which is the tax year 2013-14). Note that this is the return that is due by the end of January 2015 so there should be plenty of time.
PAYE – If you do not normally complete a Self-Assessment form then you can claim your EIS entitlement by requesting a change to your PAYE tax code. This is what the Claim form sent with your SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate is for.
You fill in the details as per the certificate, sign the declaration on the back, and send to your HMRC office. They will alter your tax code so you receive the relevant tax rebate.
Note that in both cases you keep the SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate, as HMRC could ask you to produce it in future.
If you want to make a more complex claim – for example, to claim for tax relief for a previous year – or if the claim is for capital gains deferral relief, then you will find boxes on the claim form to enable you to do this. In these cases it is best to read HMRC’s guidance available online at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/eis/ and http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/seedeis/
