FB 2016: The new investors’ relief

The new investors’ relief (IR) allows investors to enjoy a lower rate of tax of 10% on lifetime gains of up to £10m on investments into shares in non-listed trading companies, which are issued after 16 March 2016 and held for at least three years before a disposal. This relief is in addition to entrepreneurs’ relief (ER). Although IR has some similarities to ER, the relief is restricted to external investors only and is more akin to enterprise investment scheme (EIS) relief, although with fewer restrictions over the type of company that can qualify and how investments are structured. Given the tax savings of up to £1m per investor and the potentially wide application, we anticipate IR to be a popular tax relief and something which tax advisers will need to understand and advise on now.