You claim EIS income tax relief using the EIS3 compliance certificate that the company gives you once HMRC has approved its share issue. You either enter the investment on your Self Assessment return for the year the shares were issued, or use the claim section of the EIS3 to get relief early through your PAYE tax code or reduced payments on account. No claim of any kind can be made until you hold the certificate.

Where does the EIS3 come from?

The GOV.UK investor guidance sets out the sequence. After issuing the shares, the company submits an online compliance statement, form EIS1, listing the investors who want certificates. If HMRC is satisfied, it issues form EIS2 to the company with a Unique Investment Reference (UIR) for that share issue, and authorises the company to issue EIS3 certificates to the investors listed. The company adds the UIR and investment details and sends each investor their EIS3.

The guidance stresses that HMRC does not send EIS3 certificates to investors; they come from the company. Under section 204 of the Income Tax Act 2007 a compliance certificate is issued by the company, states that the requirements for relief are met so far as they relate to the company, and must not be issued without HMRC’s authority.

Timing depends on the company. VCM14130 notes that the company must have carried on the qualifying trade for four months before the investor can claim, so in practice an EIS3 will not arrive until then. If you invested through an approved knowledge intensive fund, the manager receives the EIS3s and sends you form EIS5 instead.

What does the certificate show, and what does it not prove?

The EIS3 records the number of shares, the amount subscribed, the date of issue, the UIR and, according to HS341, whether the company was a knowledge intensive company. It also states any value you have received from the company, and HS341 says your claim must be restricted by that amount. VCM14130 explains that page 3 is left blank by the company because it is the investor’s claim form.

The certificate only covers the company’s side. The GOV.UK guidance points out that receiving an EIS3 shows HMRC is satisfied the company met the scheme requirements, but you must also meet the investor conditions yourself: no connection with the company, no linked loans and no protective arrangements. Those are explained in EIS income tax relief for investors.

How do you claim on your tax return?

HS341 for the 2025 to 2026 return gives the steps:

  1. Enter the total subscriptions on which you are claiming relief for the year in box 2 of the “Other tax reliefs” section on page Ai 2 of the additional information pages (SA101). Include amounts already relieved through your tax code or reduced payments on account. Leave out anything you are claiming for the previous year instead.
  2. In the “Any other information” box, box 19 on page TR 7, list each investment: the UIR, the company name, the amount claimed for this year, the date the shares were issued and, if you subscribed more than the limit, how you want the relief attributed.
  3. Keep the EIS3. You do not send it with the return, but HMRC may ask to see it.

The details are not a formality. SAM121400 tells HMRC staff that if the information is not on the return or otherwise to hand, the relief should not be given and the return should be corrected, with a message asking for the missing details. HS341 also notes that people using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax make claims through their software instead of the return boxes.

Can you get the relief before the year ends?

Yes. VCM14140 says an investor can use the claim section of the EIS3 to ask for a change to their PAYE tax code, or claim a reduction in a payment on account, without waiting for the year to end. You must still show the relief on the Self Assessment return afterwards. See PAYE tax codes and reducing payments on account for how those adjustments work.

PAYE10045 tells HMRC staff that if total relief is £10,000 or less it can be given as a coding allowance without the investor being in Self Assessment. For larger claims the coding allowance can still be given, but the investor must be in Self Assessment, and HMRC will set up or reopen a record.

What if the EIS3 arrives after you have filed?

HS341 says you complete the claim form inside the EIS3 and send it to HMRC. VCM14160 describes this as completing pages 3 and 4 and keeping page 1, the certificate itself, in case HMRC asks for it. VCM14140 adds that where the return has already been made, it should be amended or, if it is too late to amend, supplemented by a stand alone claim on the EIS3. The general rules on changing a filed return are in amending a tax return.

Section 202 sets the time limit: a claim must be made no later than the fifth anniversary of the normal Self Assessment filing date for the tax year. For shares issued in 2025 to 2026 that is 31 January 2032. VCM14130 explains the long window: it allows for the company first having to apply and be approved.

The same certificate is used to elect for carry back, which HS341 says is done by completing the claim form in the EIS3 for the previous year. See carrying back EIS and SEIS relief.

How does a claim look in practice?

Illustration only. Ava, an employee, subscribes £40,000 for EIS shares issued on 10 November 2025. The company has been trading for over four months and she receives her EIS3 in March 2026.

  • Her relief is £12,000 (30% of £40,000) for 2025 to 2026. With the tax year almost over, a coding change would achieve little, and because the relief is over £10,000 she needs to be in Self Assessment anyway.
  • On her 2025 to 2026 return, due by 31 January 2027 if filed online, she enters £40,000 in box 2 on page Ai 2, and lists the UIR, company name, £40,000 and 10 November 2025 in box 19.
  • Had the EIS3 arrived after she filed, she would complete the claim form and send it to HMRC instead.

What about joint holdings and nominees?

HS341 says shares issued to joint owners are treated as if each subscribed an equal share, even if one paid the whole amount, and each joint owner should get their own EIS3. VCM10520 gives the example of spouses subscribing £5,000 jointly: each certificate shows the full 5,000 shares, and each owner claims on £2,500. Where shares are held by a nominee, the person on whose behalf they are held is treated as the subscriber.

What mistakes cause claims to fail?

  • Claiming on a contract note or share certificate instead of an EIS3. HS341 is clear that you must wait for the form.
  • Leaving the UIR and issue date out of box 19, which leads HMRC to remove the claim.
  • Claiming the full subscription where the EIS3 shows value received.
  • Entering more than the annual limit in box 2. List every subscription in box 19 but restrict the box 2 figure.
  • Assuming that holding an EIS3 settles the position. Withdrawal is still possible under the rules in when EIS or SEIS relief is withdrawn.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 19 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.