Overview
- EIS and VCT investee limits will double from April 2026, with annual caps rising to £10 million and lifetime caps to £24 million, and higher thresholds for knowledge-intensive companies.
- EMI options expand from April 2026 with a £120 million gross assets limit, a 500-employee ceiling, a £6 million company option pool, and a 15-year exercise window; the grant notification to HMRC ends in April 2027.
- The new UK Listing Relief removes the 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax on trades in shares of companies newly listed on the London Stock Exchange for their first three years from Nov. 27, 2025.
- VCT managers and advisers caution the relief cut could deter investors, even as one platform reported a 538% jump in applications the day after the Budget.
- Treasury costings show savings of about £125 million in 2027–28 and £95 million in each of the following two years, and a Call for Evidence on tax support for entrepreneurs runs until Feb. 28, 2026.