Part 6

Venture capital trusts
Chapter 2

VCT relief

Entitlement to relief

Eligibility for relief
261
1
An individual (“A”) is eligible for VCT relief for a tax year if—
a
a VCT issues eligible shares to A in that year,
b
the VCT issues the shares for raising money, and
c
A subscribes for the shares on A's own behalf.
2
The amount in respect of which A is eligible for VCT relief for the tax year by reference to any shares is the amount subscribed by A for the shares.
3
A is eligible for VCT relief by reference to any shares only if—
za
the shares are issued before 6 April
2035
,
a
the shares are both subscribed for and issued—
i
for genuine commercial reasons, and
ii
not as part of a scheme or arrangement the main purpose or one of the main purposes of which is the avoidance of tax, and
b
A is at least 18 years old when the shares are issued.
4
A is not eligible for VCT relief by reference to any shares if they are treated as issued to A by virtue of section 195(8) of FA 2003 (tax treatment of disposal by company of its own shares).
See section 271(4) for provision requiring the giving of notices about the effect of this subsection.
5
The Treasury may, by regulations, amend subsection (3)(za) to substitute a different date for the date for the time being specified there.

Entitlement to claim relief
262
1
An individual (“A”) who is eligible for VCT relief by reference to shares issued in a tax year is entitled to claim VCT relief for that year.
2
A is entitled to claim VCT relief in respect of the amount on which A is eligible for VCT relief by reference to all or some of the shares.
This is subject to subsection (3).
3
A is not entitled to claim VCT relief for any tax year on an amount of more than £200,000.

Form and amount of relief
263
1
An individual who—
a
is entitled to claim VCT relief for a tax year, and
b
claims such relief for the year on any amount,
is entitled to a tax reduction for the year.
2
The tax reduction is equal to 30% of the amount in respect of which the claim is made.
3
The tax reduction is given effect at Step 6 of the calculation in section 23.

No entitlement to relief if there is a linked loan
264
1
An individual is not entitled to VCT relief by reference to any shares (“the relevant shares”) if a linked loan is made by any person, at any time in the relevant period, to the individual or an associate of the individual.
2
References in this section to the making by any person of a loan to an individual or any associate of the individual include references—
a
to the giving by that person of any credit to the individual or any associate of the individual, and
b
to the assignment to that person of any debt due from the individual or any associate of the individual.
3
In this section—
- “linked loan” means a loan which—
  1. would not have been made, or
  2. would not have been made on the same terms,
if the individual had not subscribed for the relevant shares or had not been proposing to do so,
- “the relevant period”, in relation to VCT relief in respect of any shares in a company which is a VCT, means the period—
  1. beginning with—
    1. the incorporation of the company, or
    2. if later, the date two years before the issue of the shares, and
  2. ending immediately before the fifth anniversary of that issue.

Restricting relief where there is a linked sale
264A
1
This section applies where—
a
an individual subscribes for shares (“the relevant shares”) in a
VCT
(“the
VCT
”), and
b
there is at least one linked sale of other shares by the individual.
2
For the purposes of this Part, the amount the individual subscribes for the shares is to be treated as reduced (but not below nil) by the total consideration given for the linked sales of other shares.
This is subject to subsection (3).
3
If a sale is linked in relation to more than one subscription for shares—
a
the consideration for it is to be applied to reduce subscriptions under subsection (2) in the order in which the subscriptions are made, and
b
accordingly, to the extent that any consideration has been used to reduce an earlier subscription, it is not available to reduce a later one.
4
A sale of shares (“the sold shares”) is “linked” if conditions A and B are met.
5
Condition A is that the sold shares are in—
a
the
VCT
, or
b
if subsection (7A) applies,
a company which is (or later becomes) a successor or predecessor of the VCT.
6
Condition B is that—
a
the individual subscribes for the relevant shares in circumstances where—
i
the purchase of the sold shares from the individual was conditional upon the individual subscribing for shares in the
VCT
, or
ii
the individual's subscription for shares in the
VCT
was conditional upon that purchase, or
b
the subscription for the relevant shares and the sale of the sold shares are within 6 months of each other (irrespective of which came first).
7
A company (“company X”) is a “successor or predecessor of the
VCT
” if—
a
there is a merger of two or more companies for the purposes of Chapter 5 (see section 323) and—
i
the
VCT
is one of the merged companies and company X is “the successor company” (as defined by that section), or
ii
the
VCT
is “the successor company” and company X is one of the merged companies, or
b
section 327 (effect of restructuring of
VCT
) applies and—
i
the
VCT
is “the old company” and company X is “
the new company
” for the purposes of that section, or
ii
company X is “the old company” and the
VCT
is “the new company” for those purposes.
7A
This subsection applies if—
a
the date of the merger or restructuring referred to in subsection (7) (“D2”) is before, or the same as, the date when the individual subscribes for the relevant shares (“D1”), or
b
D2 is after D1 but no more than two years after, and either—
i
the individual could reasonably be expected to know at the time of subscribing for the relevant shares that the merger or restructuring referred to in subsection (7) was likely to take place, or
ii
the main purpose of the merger or restructuring, or one of its main purposes, is to enable individuals to obtain a tax advantage in connection with
VCT
relief.
7B
For the purposes of subsection (7A)—
a
the date of the merger or restructuring is the date of the issue of shares referred to in section 323(1)(a) or (2)(a) or section 326(2)(a) (or, if there is more than one such issue, the date of the first of them);
b
a “
tax advantage
” includes—
i
relief or increased relief from tax,
ii
repayment or increased repayment of tax,
iii
avoidance or reduction of a charge to tax or an assessment to tax, and
iv
avoidance of a possible assessment to tax.
8
This section does not apply if, or to the extent that, the subscription for the relevant shares is a result of the individual electing to reinvest dividends payable to the individual on shares in the
VCT
, in acquiring further shares in the VCT.

No entitlement to relief which would have been lost if it had already been obtained
265
An individual is not entitled to VCT relief by reference to any shares if circumstances have arisen which would have resulted in the withdrawal or reduction of the relief, if that relief had already been obtained.

Loss of relief

Loss of relief if shares disposed of within 5 years
266
1
This section applies, subject to section 267 (spouses or civil partners), if an individual—
a
obtains VCT relief in respect of eligible shares in a VCT, and
b
makes a disposal of those shares within 5 years of their issue to the individual.
2
In the case of a disposal that is made otherwise than by way of a bargain made at arm's length, any VCT relief obtained by reference to the shares which are disposed of is to be withdrawn.
3
In the case of a disposal that is made by way of a bargain made at arm's length, any VCT relief obtained by reference to the shares disposed of must—
a
if it is greater than A, be reduced by A, and
b
in any other case, be withdrawn.
4
A is 30% of the amount or value of the consideration which the individual receives for the shares.
5
The rules in subsections (6) and (7) are for determining which eligible shares of any class are treated as disposed of for the purposes of—
a
this section, and
b
section 267,
if a person disposes of some but not all of the eligible shares of that class which the person holds in a company.
6
Shares acquired on an earlier day are treated as disposed of before shares acquired on a later day.
7
Shares acquired on the same day are treated as disposed of in the following order—
a
shares by reference to which VCT relief has not been obtained, and
b
shares by reference to which VCT relief has been obtained.

Transfers of shares between spouses or civil partners
267
1
Section 266 does not apply in the case of any disposal of shares made by an individual to the individual's spouse or civil partner, if it is made at a time when they are living together.
2
Subsection (3) applies if any eligible shares which—
a
have been issued to any individual (“the transferor”), and
b
are shares by reference to which any VCT relief has been obtained,
are transferred to the transferor's spouse or civil partner (“the transferee”) by a disposal such as is mentioned in subsection (1).
3
If this subsection applies, section 266 and subsection (2) have effect, in relation to any subsequent disposal or other event, as if—
a
the transferee were the person who had subscribed for the shares,
b
the shares had been issued to the transferee at the time when they were issued to the transferor,
c
there had been, in relation to the transferred shares, such a reduction by way of VCT relief in the transferee's liability to income tax as is equal to the actual reduction in respect of those shares of the transferor's liability, and
d
that deemed reduction were (despite the transfer) to be treated for the purposes of section 266 as an amount of VCT relief obtained by reference to the shares transferred.
4
Any assessment for withdrawing or reducing VCT relief because of a disposal or other event falling within subsection (3) is to be made on the transferee.

Loss of relief if VCT approval withdrawn
268
1
This section applies if—
a
the approval of any company as a VCT is withdrawn, and
b
the withdrawal of the approval is not one to which section 281(3) (VCT approval treated as never having been given) applies.
2
Any person who, at the time when the withdrawal takes effect, is holding any shares issued by the company by reference to which VCT relief has been obtained is treated for the purposes of section 266 as having disposed of those shares—
a
immediately before that time, and
b
otherwise than by way of a bargain made at arm's length.

Loss of relief which is subsequently found not to have been due
269
Any VCT relief obtained which is subsequently found not to have been due is to be withdrawn.

Assessment on withdrawal or reduction of relief
270
1
An assessment for withdrawing or reducing VCT relief under any of sections 266 to 269 must be made for the tax year for which the relief was obtained, and may be made at any time not more than 6 years after the end of that tax year.
2
No assessment for withdrawing or reducing VCT relief obtained by reference to shares issued to any individual may be made because of any event occurring after the individual's death.

Supplementary

Provision of information
271
1
If an event occurs that results in any VCT relief falling to be withdrawn or reduced, the individual by whom the relief was obtained must, within 60 days of coming to know of the event, give notice to an officer of Revenue and Customs containing particulars of the event.
2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
If a company which is a VCT issues to any individual eligible shares to which section 261(4) applies, it must—
a
at the time of the issue of those shares, give the individual a notice stating that the individual is not eligible for VCT relief by reference to those shares, and
b
not later than 3 months after the issue of those shares, give a copy of that notice to an officer of Revenue and Customs.
5
No obligation as to secrecy imposed by statute or otherwise prevents an officer of Revenue and Customs from disclosing to a VCT that VCT relief has been obtained by reference to a particular number or proportion of its shares.

Regulations as to procedure etc
272
1
This section applies to VCT relief and relief for which the following provide—
a
section 151A of TCGA 1992 (VCTs: reliefs),
b
Schedule 5C to TCGA 1992 (VCTs: deferred charge on re-investment),
c
Chapter 5 of Part 6 of ITTOIA 2005 (VCT dividends), and
d
regulations under Chapter 5 of this Part.
2
The Treasury may by regulations make such provision as they consider appropriate for—
a
giving effect to relief to which this section applies, and
b
preventing such relief from being given unless a claim is made in accordance with the regulations and such other requirements as may be imposed by the regulations have been met.
3
Regulations under this section may make provision as to the manner in which, and the persons by whom, relief to which this section applies is to be claimed.

Interpretation of Chapter
273
1
In this Chapter “eligible shares”, in relation to a company which is a VCT, means ordinary shares in the VCT which, throughout the period of 5 years beginning on the date on which they are issued, carry—
a
no present or future preferential right to dividends or to a company's assets on its winding up, and
b
no present or future right to be redeemed.
2
In this Chapter references to a disposal of shares include references to a disposal of an interest or right in or over shares.
S. 264A(7A)(7B) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 5 para. 12 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2018 (c. 3), Sch. 5 para. 1(3), 12
Words in s. 264A(5)(b) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 5 para. 12 of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2018 (c. 3), Sch. 5 para. 1(2), 12
S. 271(2)(3) omitted (13.8.2009) by virtue of The Finance Act 2009, Schedule 47 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/2035), art. 1, Sch. para. 47
S. 264A inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 10 para. 2(2) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2014 (c. 26), Sch. 10 para. 2(1)
Word in s. 261(3)(za) substituted (3.9.2024) by Finance Act 2024 (c. 3), s. 11(1)(b)(2); S.I. 2024/897, reg. 2
Words in s. 270(1) inserted (with effect in accordance with Sch. 10 para. 1(2) of the amending Act) by Finance Act 2014 (c. 26), Sch. 10 para. 1(1)
S. 261(3)(za) inserted (18.11.2015) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 (c. 33), Sch. 6 para. 2(2)
S. 261(5) inserted (18.11.2015) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 (c. 33), Sch. 6 para. 2(3)